[Masters] Im Sung-jae 'Tied 5th, 1 Stroke Behind'... Johnson and Thomas Tied for Lead

On the second day, shooting 6 under par across 29 holes, Woods ranks 22nd, McIlroy 27th, DeChambeau faces 'cut off' danger at 61st place

Im Sung-jae is taking a shot on the 15th hole on the second day of the Masters. Augusta, Georgia, USA - Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics) is making waves at the Masters.

On the 14th (Korean time) at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, USA (par 72, 7,475 yards), Im shot 6 under par over 29 holes on the second day of the 'Masters Showdown,' leaping to a tie for 5th place (8 under par, 136 strokes). World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas (both USA), Cameron Smith (Australia), and Abraham Ancer (Mexico) are fiercely battling for the lead, tied at 9 under par (135 strokes).

Im Sung-jae made up for the 11 holes of the first round he couldn't complete due to bad weather and sunset the previous day by recording five birdies (including three consecutive birdies) and one bogey. In the second round, he posted six birdies and four bogeys. After exchanging four birdies and four bogeys over 14 holes without reducing his score, he finished strong with birdies on the 6th and 9th holes. He is just one stroke behind the leaders, in a position to contend for the title in his first appearance at the tournament.

Dustin Johnson is hitting an iron shot on the 8th hole during the second day of the Masters. Augusta, Georgia, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

Johnson added 2 under par to take the top spot on the leaderboard. Despite testing positive for COVID-19 before the CJ Cup on the 14th of last month, he made a successful comeback with a runner-up finish at the Houston Open. Thomas also joined the title race with a 3 under par round. World No. 2 Jon Rahm (Spain) surged 5 under par over 12 holes to join the tie for 5th place. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) and Patrick Cantlay (USA) are also in this group.

2016 champion Danny Willett, along with Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose (both England), are tied for 9th place (7 under par, 137 strokes). 2018 champion Patrick Reed improved by 2 strokes over 11 holes to tie for 14th place (6 under par). Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson (both USA) are tied for 19th place (5 under par, 139 strokes). The 'returning golf emperor' Tiger Woods (USA) recorded two birdies and two bogeys over 10 holes, sitting tied for 22nd place (4 under par), eyeing a climb up the leaderboard.

Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) surged 6 under par to tie for 27th place (3 under par, 141 strokes), continuing his hope for a 'Career Grand Slam' by winning all four majors. On the other hand, 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (USA) lost 3 strokes over 12 holes, dropping to a tie for 61st place (1 over par). Kim Si-woo (25) is tied for 34th place (2 under par), Kang Sung-hoon (33) tied for 50th place (even par, 144 strokes), and An Byeong-hun (29, all CJ Logistics) are tied for 61st. Some players were unable to finish their rounds due to sunset.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.