South Korean golfers struggle in Masters opening round

South Korea's Kim Si-woo and Im Sung-jae struggled in the opening round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. Kim posted a three-over 75 to tie for 48th, while Im carded a four-over 76 to tie for 56th.

Kim Si-woo, ranked No. 28 in the world, recorded two birdies against three bogeys and a double bogey on the first hole. He missed five fairways and hit only half of the greens in regulation. In his ninth Masters appearance and first since 2024, his best finish is a tie for 12th in 2021. He had broken 70 just once in his previous 16 rounds there.

Im Sung-jae, world No. 71, made his seventh straight Masters start but managed no birdies, with two bogeys and a double bogey. He missed just two fairways but hit only 10 of 18 greens in regulation. He tied for second in 2020, the best by a South Korean, and tied for fifth in 2025 after shooting under par in all four rounds.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy shares the lead at five-under with Sam Burns. McIlroy seeks back-to-back titles, a feat last achieved by Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002. Patrick Reed, the 2018 winner, is among those tied for third at three-under.

Related Articles

Kim Si-woo celebrating his tied sixth-place finish at the Open Championship on the green at Royal Birkdale.
Image generated by AI

Kim Si-woo ties for sixth at Open Championship

Reported by AI Image generated by AI

Kim Si-woo finished tied for sixth at the 154th Open Championship with a score of six-under 274 at Royal Birkdale. This marks his career-best result at a major.

Im Sung-jae of South Korea tied for fifth at the Truist Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina. The result marks his second top-10 finish of the 2026 season.

Reported by AI

Kim Si-woo and Im Sung-jae will compete in this week's PGA Championship in Pennsylvania. The two South Korean PGA Tour veterans bring strong recent form into the second major of the year.

Swedish golfer Ludvig Åberg ended his first round in the PGA Championship with three bogeys in five holes and carded 72 strokes, two over par.

Reported by AI

Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch finished the third round of LIV Golf Korea at nine-under par to share the lead at Asiad Country Club in Busan. Both players said they will adopt an aggressive approach in Sunday's final round.

This website uses cookies

We use cookies for analytics to improve our site. Read our privacy policy for more information.
Decline