Augusta: Both South Korean players in action at the Masters have finished near the bottom of the leaderboard at the season's first major.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Im Sung-jae finished alone in 46th among the 54 players who made the cut at three-over 291 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. His countryman Kim Si-woo ended up right behind in 47th place at four-over 292. Im finished his seventh Masters appearance with a 77, which included just one birdie against four bogeys and one double bogey.
Im began the tournament with a 76 before shooting back-to-back 69s but then submitted his worst score of the week in the final round. Im found only nine of the 14 fairways off the tee Sunday, his lowest total of the week, and hit 10 of 18 greens in regulation, matching Thursday's total for his worst performance at this year's tournament.
Kim failed to break 70 once in his ninth Masters, going 75-73-72-72. He had five birdies negated by five bogeys in the final round. Kim finished the tournament with a birdie on the par-4 18th, one of only eight birdies on that finishing hole Sunday. Kim hit 10 fairways and 11 greens in the final round, slightly below the field average in both categories.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy successfully defended his title by shooting a 12-under 276 and holding off top-ranked Scottie Scheffler by one shot. McIlroy became the fourth player to win consecutive Masters titles, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods.