South Korea's Im Sung-Jae leads 2022 Masters after first round

Sung-jae Im Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

South Korean golfer Im Sung-Jae leads 2022 Masters after first round

By Adam Stites | Last updated 4/7/22

South Korean golfer Im Sung-Jae has a one-stroke lead at the 2022 Masters after the first round at Augusta National.

Im, 24, recorded five birdies, one eagle, and two bogeys to finish five under par Thursday, one stroke ahead of Australia's Cameron Smith.

Out front at Augusta.

Sungjae Im holds a 1-stroke lead after his opening round 67. pic.twitter.com/2Ou9vyr0KU
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2022

Im won the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year honors for 2018-19 season, but hasn't yet won a major championship in his career. He came close at the 2020 Masters, though, where he finished in a tie for second place, ending the weekend five strokes behind the winner, Dustin Johnson. Im didn't make the cut at the 2021 Masters.

In October 2021, Im recorded the second PGA Tour victory of his career when he finished four strokes ahead of the field at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.

Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods garnered the majority of the attention Thursday as he finished one under par in his first major tournament back from a severe car accident in February 2021. Woods is tied for tenth place.

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