Augusta: South Korea's Im Sung-jae remained in position for his third career top-10 finish at the Masters after his second consecutive under-par round, while his two compatriots also made the cut. Im shot a two-under 70 in the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
According to Yonhap News Agency, after making five birdies and three bogeys in the second round, Im is sitting at three-under overall, a five-way tie for 12th place. Justin Rose of England maintained the sole possession of the lead at eight-under, one stroke better than Bryson DeChambeau of the United States. Im was the runner-up at the 2020 Masters -- the best showing by a South Korean player at Augusta -- and finished tied for eighth in 2022.
Im opened his day with back-to-back birdies and closed out the first nine with birdies at the eighth and the ninth holes. However, Im only had one more birdie the rest of the way and made bogeys on three of his final four holes, including one on the par-5 15th, where he put his third shot, played with a wedge, into water. "I surprised myself with such a good start. I probably reached as high as third place at one point, and it reminded me of the years when I played really well here," Im said. "My driver got a bit shaky later on, but at least I came away with bogeys on holes where I could have lost more shots."
Im blamed his struggles down the stretch on windy conditions. "Without the wind on 15, my wedge shot would have stayed on the green," he said. "The ball didn't carry as far as I thought it would, and the wind caused more backspin." Still, Im hit more fairways and greens in the second round than he did in the opening round. "At Augusta, you will be rewarded for your accuracy. You have to be able to play the shots you want to get into contention," he said. "Any small mistake, and it can get really difficult. You have to be precise with your distance control and minimize your damage when you miss the spot."
Two other South Koreans in the field, An Byeong-hun and Tom Kim, will also play on the weekend. An shot one-under 71 to reach one-over for the tournament, after collecting four birdies against three bogeys in the second round. An is tied for 37th. Kim made the cut right on the number at two-over after shooting his second consecutive 73. He is tied for 40th after making one birdie and two bogeys Friday. "It played really difficult. The wind was starting to blow, and the hardest part about Augusta National, it is not consistent. It changes all over the place," Kim said of the conditions. "I'm excited to be in the weekend. Hopefully, I'm going to be first off tomorrow so I can just go out and post a good number and have a late tee time on the weekend."