Im Sung-jae ties for second at his first Masters

Im Sung-jae, the rising star golfer from South Korea, finished second at his first Masters and rewrote the history for Asian male golfers.

On Sunday, the 22-year-old tied for second with Cameron Smith of Australia in his Masters debut at 15-under 273 at Augusta Golf Club in Georgia, the U.S.

As the first South Korean golfer to have competed in the champions group, Im pulled off five birdies and two bogeys, with a 3-under 69. He tightly chased Dustin Johnson just shy of a shot but had two bogeys in a row on the sixth and seventh holes. “I emptied my mind after the two mistakes. I was able to finish second as I only focused on my performance instead of obsessing to win,” said Im Sung-jae in an after-game interview.

According to the PGA, Im recorded the best performance in the ranks of successive Masters debutants. The previous record had been held by Jason Day of Australia, who won second place in the 2011 Masters tournament at 12-under 276. Im also became the third youngest golfer to finish the tournament as top 5, following Jordan Spieth of the United States, who won second place in 2014 at the age of 20 years and 9 months and Tiger Woods of the United States, who won in 1997 at 21 years and 4 months.


Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com