After driver head cracks, Seung-yul Noh shoots 60 at AT&T Byron Nelson

Not only did Seung-yul Noh go low in Thursday’s opening round of the AT&T Byron Nelson, he overcame a mid-round equipment snafu.

Noh carded 11-under 60 at TPC Craig Ranch, tying the course record and setting his own personal best round on the PGA TOUR. The South Korean, 31, made 181 feet of putts, including a 27-foot par save at No. 16, a 34-foot birdie at No. 17 and a 9-foot birdie at the closing par-5 18th.

That’s impressive enough – not to mention the equipment issue he overcame early on the back nine. After an errant tee shot at the par-4 12th, well right of the fairway, Noh closely examined his driver head and noticed a crack.

“I’m trying to hit a draw and it was a pretty solid hit but it went 70 yards right. I was like, where did this come from?” Noh said.

Noh was not allowed to replace the club at the time. Under Model Local Rule G-9, a club is not replaceable solely because of a crack.

“There needed to be some more subsequent damage other than just a hairline crack,” Chief Referee John Mutch said.

That came on the par-4 13th, when Noh hit the driver well left on the par-4 13th, and his provisional went even further left. From there, he conferred with Mutch, who determined “significant damage” occurred, allowing Noh to take the driver out of play.

“There was definitely separation in the metal on the face, and there was clear concavity in the face. Concavity renders a club face non-conforming. So the club at that point was unfit for play,” Mutch said.

Noh received a replacement driver head on No. 16 and screwed it onto the shaft. Per Rule 4.1a(2) in the Rules of Golf, if a conforming club is damaged during a round, except in cases of abuse, a player may repair or replace it with another club.

Noh managed to birdie No. 14 even without the driver. Normally a drivable par-4, he hit 3-wood off the tee, flipped a wedge to 7 feet and drained the putt. He added another birdie at the 220-yard par-3 15th, knocking his approach to within 11 feet. Then came the string of long putts to set up a chance for 59 heading into the last hole.

“After making 16 long par putt, I talked to James Hahn, I said, ‘what's going on, what happened today.’ He said, ‘just don't think about it, just go play,’” Noh said.

He put his drive in the fairway at the par-5 18th. Needing an eagle to shoot 59, Noh stood over his approach from 257 yards and contemplated going for it. It was “borderline” he said after the round, but with the wind directly into his face, he decided to lay up. He spun a wedge to 9 feet and made the putt for 60.

“It’s just the first day, I have to manage the score so I just laid up and tried to make birdie,” Noh said.

Noh has made nine cuts in 12 TOUR starts this season, including two top-25 finishes. The 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans winner took a two-year competitive hiatus from 2017 to 2019, to fulfill his mandatory military obligation in South Korea.

After a splendid opening round outside Dallas, with a dash of resilience, he’s positioned to chase TOUR title No. 2.