Taichi Kho began his bid for back-to-back Asian Games gold medals with a hole-in-one on Wednesday. The Hong Kong golfer holed a seven-iron from 183 yards at the par-three seventh on his way to a one-under-par 69 in the opening round at Kasugai Country Club’s East Course in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
He sits four shots behind Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-hsuan and home favourite Kazuki Higa, who share the lead on five under after round one of the men’s individual event at the 20th Asian Games.
Can Taichi Kho win a second Asian Games gold?
Kho made history in Hangzhou in 2023, becoming the first player from Hong Kong to win the Asian Games individual gold. He won by a distance, at 27 under par, with rounds of 62, 60, 70 and 69. He also helped Hong Kong to team bronze, the city’s first golf medals at the Games.
He arrives in Japan in the best form of his professional career. In June he birdied the final hole of the International Series Morocco to beat Bubba Watson by a shot, a week after losing a play-off on the Japan Golf Tour. That second Asian Tour title has him second on this season’s Order of Merit.
His first Asian Tour win, at the 2023 World City Championship in Hong Kong, made him the first player from Hong Kong to win on the Tour. He went on to be named Rookie of the Year that season.
Asian Games 2026 golf: first-round leaders
Wang returned a bogey-free 65, helped by an eagle at the fifth, where he holed out with a 52-degree wedge from 113 yards. One of the longest hitters in the game, he averaged 320 yards off the tee.
Higa, last year’s Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, was six under through 16 holes before dropping his only shot at the 506-yard 17th, the hardest hole on the course.
A shot behind the leaders are India’s Saptak Talwar, Korea’s Mun Do-yeob, China’s Sampson Zheng Yunhe and Japan’s Keita Nakajima.
Tom Kim chases gold and a military exemption
Korea’s Tom Kim, the highest-ranked player in the 66-man field at 32nd in the world, opened with a 67 despite managing just six hours’ sleep in two days. He has more than a medal at stake: gold would exempt him from South Korea’s mandatory military service.
How the Asian Games team event works
Each nation fields three players, and the best two scores each day count towards the team total. Japan lead on nine under after Higa’s 65 and Nakajima’s 66, two shots clear of Korea and China. Hong Kong are tied fifth on 137.
How did the UAE start at the Asian Games?
The UAE team are 18th of 21 nations after an opening total of 152, 21 shots behind Japan.
Asian Games 2026 men’s golf: key information
Dates: Wednesday, September 30 to Saturday, October 3.
Venue: Kasugai Country Club (East Course), Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Format: 72 holes of stroke play; team event counts the best two of three scores each day.
Field: 66 players.
Defending champion: Taichi Kho (Hong Kong).