Matsuyama, Im and Kim enjoy fast starts at BMW Championship

Hideki Matsuyama stayed hot with his new putter for solo second place following an opening 5-under 67 at the BMW Championship on Thursday as Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo enjoyed fast starts to keep the good times rolling for Asian golfers

Im Sung-jae plays a shot on the first hole during the first round of the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado on Thursday. [GETTY IMAGES]

Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama stayed hot with his new putter for solo second place following an opening 5-under 67 at the BMW Championship on Thursday as Korea’s Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo enjoyed fast starts to keep the good times rolling for Asian golfers in the FedExCup Playoffs.

Four days after securing a two-stroke victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship for his second win of the season and 10th PGA Tour title, the 32-year-old Matsuyama was in the element once again at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado with six birdies, which included a monster 74-foot birdie conversion on the fourth hole.

Im and Kim are determined to join the winner’s party in this week’s penultimate Playoffs event, shooting a 68 and 69 respectively for T3 and T7 respectively as they chase early leader Keegan Bradley. The American was the last man in 50th place to qualify for the BMW Championship last Sunday, and fired with a bogey-free 66. An Byeong-hun, also from Korea, opened with a 72.

The 26-year-old Im is seeking a third PGA Tour win and his cause was helped with six birdies, including three opening gains to start his day. He was particularly sharp with his short game as he scrambled for six par saves to stay on the leaderboard. With Castle Pines being 6,200 feet above sea level, players like Im has had to make adjustments to distance control as balls fly further and the thinner air makes the 8,130-yards property a challenging walk.

“It starts downhill and goes uphill towards the back nine. I feel like I'm getting tired physically into the back nine. I feel like being out of breath when I go uphill,” said Im, who ranked second in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens. “It was hard to measure and calculate the yardages and there was some wind on the back nine. I had to calculate the yardage, then minus off 10 percent. This was little confusing. Overall, it was not very easy but I had a great start and was able to finish strong.”

Im holds the distinction of recording Asia’s best finish in the FedExCup where he was tied second behind Rory McIlroy in 2022. He is currently in 10th position on the points list and will make his sixth successive appearance in the Playoffs finale, the Tour Championship next week where the FedExCup is at stake.

Compatriot Si Woo Kim, who needs a high finish to qualify for a third Tour Championship appearance, put himself in a strong position following a six-birdie round which included a chip-in birdie on the fifth and a near hole-in-one on the par-3 16th hole where his ball skirted the edge of the cup. “I have 5 and 6 iron, in between numbers. With the altitude, I try to hit it hard with a 6, and I saw as soon as it landed, I can see it going right at it. It was close. Too hard maybe,” said Kim, a four-time Tour winner.

“It was a good start, and then back nine, it was getting a little getting tired with these hills. I was trying to keep drinking, trying to keep breathing, but it's definitely harder than last week. But trying to keep focused. Hit a lot of good shots, hit a lot of good putts. A couple misses, but hopefully next couple days I can get better.”

A third victory of the season for Matsuyama could see him jump into second place on the FedExCup points list behind leader Scottie Scheffler, which could mean starting two strokes back at the Tour Championship, which uses a staggered-scoring format based on players’ rankings after the BMW Championship. No Asian golfer has won the FedExCup since its inauguration in 2007.

BY CHUAH CHOO CHIANG [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]