Castle Rock (USA), August 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama picked up where he left off the St. Jude Championships he won last week, staying hot with his new putter to secure sole second place at the BMW Championship with a 5-under-par 67. Koreans Sungjae Im (68) and Si Woo Kim (69) got off to a fast start to keep Asian golfers on the up in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

However, the Indian-American players Akshay Bhatia (72, T-22) and Sahith Theegala (73, T-34) as well as the Indian-British player Aaron Rai (74, T-38) were some way behind in the 50-strong field. Byeong Hun An, also from Korea, started with a 72. The American Keegan Bradley, who qualified for the BMW Championship as the last man in 50th place, played a bogey-free 66 and took the lead after the first round.

Four days after securing his second victory of the season and his 10th PGA TOUR title by two strokes at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the 32-year-old Matsuyama was back in top form at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado, making six birdies, including a massive 75-foot birdie on the fourth hole.

Im and Kim are determined to join the winners party in this week’s penultimate playoff event, shooting a 68 and a 69 for T3 and T7 respectively as they chase the early leader

Im, 26, is seeking his third PGA TOUR victory and has made six birdies, including three opening wins to start his day. His short game was particularly good as he struggled to make six pars to stay on the leaderboard. Because Castle Pines is 6,000 feet above sea level, players like Im have had to adjust their distance control as balls fly farther and the thinner air makes the 8,000-yard property a challenging stroll.

Im has the honour of having achieved Asia’s best finish at the FedEx Cup, where he finished second behind Rory McIlroy in 2022. He is currently 10th on the points list and will compete in the final of the playoffs, the TOUR Championship, which features the FedEx Cup, for the sixth year in a row next week.

Compatriot Si Woo Kim, who needs a big score to qualify for a third appearance at the TOUR Championship, put himself in a strong position after a round that included six birdies, including a chip-in birdie on the fifth and a near hole-in-one on the par-3 16th when his ball flew just wide of the edge of the hole.

A third win of the season could see Matsuyama jump into second place on the FedEx Cup points list behind leader Scottie Scheffler, which could mean he enters the TOUR Championship, which uses a tiered points system based on players’ finishes after the BMW Championship, two strokes off the lead. No Asian golfer has won the FedEx Cup since its inception in 2007.

Source: IANS

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