On August 9, Kim Si-woo and Im Sung-jae delivered impressive performances at the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, held at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, laying the foundation for a strong run at the top of the leaderboard.

Kim Si-woo carded a one-under-par 69 in the second round, bringing his total to six-under 134 and placing him in a tie for 11th. Despite dropping five spots from his opening-round position of sixth, Kim demonstrated his tenacity with three consecutive birdies on the final three holes.

Kim encountered difficulties in the middle of his round, recording pars on his opening nine holes before stumbling with bogeys at the 12th and 15th. However, he staged an impressive comeback by notching birdies at the par-5 16th, par-4 17th, and par-4 18th holes. Notably, he capped his round with a precise seven-meter putt for birdie on the 18th, ending his day on a high note.

Currently ranked 46th in FedEx Cup points, Kim is well-positioned to qualify for the BMW Championship, the second event in the playoffs, should he maintain his top-50 standing.

Meanwhile, with 21 players unable to complete the second round due to adverse weather conditions, Im Sung-jae surged up the leaderboard by carding five birdies and no bogeys through 17 holes. This moved him from a tie for 48th the previous day to 17th at four-under-par. Im will finish his remaining 18th hole before the third round begins on August 10.

Im’s round was highlighted by several long-range putts, sinking birdie attempts from 7.2 meters on the 5th, 5.5 meters on the 6th, and a remarkable 13.8 meters on the 17th.

At the top of the leaderboard, Tommy Fleetwood vaulted into first place with a six-under 64, reaching a total score of 13-under. Akshay Bhatia, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Rose formed a trio tied for second at nine-under, while Kurt Kitayama climbed into a tie for fifth after shooting a seven-under round.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finished the day tied for 7th at seven-under, thanks to eight birdies and four bogeys resulting in a 66, while defending champion Hideki Matsuyama was two-under and tied for 31st when play was suspended.

The final leaderboard standings for round two will be updated on the morning of August 10 after completion of the remaining holes.

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=Yonhap News