Kepka "Leading by 3 Strokes"... Lee Kyoung-hoon Advances to 18th Place

Masters Round 2 Suspended Due to Severe Weather
Kim Juhyung 22nd, Woods 50th, McIlroy 61st

The spirited march of ‘LIV member’ Brooks Koepka (USA) continues.

On the 7th (local time), Koepka shot 5-under par in the second round of the ‘Masters’ held at Augusta National Golf Club (par 72, 7,545 yards) in Augusta, Georgia, USA, maintaining his position at the top of the leaderboard for the second consecutive day (12-under par, 132 strokes). Amidst a suspension of play due to bad weather followed by sunset, world No. 3 Jon Rahm (Spain) reduced his score by 2 strokes over 9 holes to sit in second place (9-under par).

Brooks Koepka is teeing off on the 8th hole during the second round of the Masters. [Augusta (USA) = AP·Yonhap News]

Koepka started tied for the lead, 2 strokes behind, and collected 1 eagle and 3 birdies. He reduced his score by 3 strokes in the front nine with a birdie on the 2nd hole and an eagle on the 8th hole, and continued flawless play on the back nine by securing ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 13th and 15th holes (both par 5s). He demonstrated his resilience by lowering his score on all four par 5 holes, powered by his powerful long drives. Koepka took a 3-stroke lead, seizing the opportunity for his 5th major win and 9th PGA Tour victory overall.

Amateur Sam Bennett (USA) made a remarkable showing with a 4-under par round, rising to 3rd place (8-under par, 136 strokes). Bennett was last year’s US Amateur Champion. Viktor Hovland (Norway) and Collin Morikawa are tied for 4th place (6-under par), while Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Cameron Young (all USA), and Jason Day (Australia) share 6th place (5-under par). Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed (both USA) are performing well in a tie for 10th place (4-under par).

On the other hand, world No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler (USA) struggled with a 3-over par round, dropping to a tie for 29th place (1-under par, 143 strokes). ‘Golf Emperor’ Tiger Woods (USA) also failed to lower his score over 11 holes, sitting tied for 50th place (2-over par). World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), who was challenging for the career Grand Slam, fell to a tie for 61st place (5-over par, 149 strokes), making it difficult for him to advance to the final rounds.

Lee Kyung-hoon is inspecting the green at the 2nd hole during the second round of the Masters. [Augusta (USA) = AFP·Yonhap News]

From Korea, Lee Kyung-hoon recorded 7 birdies and 2 bogeys to reduce his score by 5 strokes, jumping to a tie for 18th place (3-under par, 141 strokes). Last year, Lee missed the cut by just 1 stroke at the Masters. Kim Joo-hyung is tied for 22nd place (2-under par, 142 strokes), Im Sung-jae is tied for 29th, and Kim Si-woo is tied for 44th place (1-over par, 145 strokes). All Korean players are expected to advance to the third round. The suspended second round will resume at 9 PM Korean time on the 8th. Thirty-nine players have yet to complete their rounds.

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