Im Sung-jae plays his second shot on the third hole during the first round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, on Friday. [Getty Images]
Im Sung-jae plays his second shot on the third hole during the first round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, on Friday. [Getty Images]

Im Sung-jae made a flying start toward his first major title Friday, finishing the opening round of the 154th Open Championship — the season's final major, with a purse of $17.75 million — just one stroke off the lead in a tie for second place.

Im carded a 4-under-par 66 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club (par 70) in Southport, England, on Friday, recording five birdies against a single bogey.

He sits one stroke behind sole leader Jackson Suber of the United States, who shot a 5-under 65, sharing second place with England's Daniel Brown.

The result marks a welcome turnaround for Im, who had struggled through the three earlier majors this year — finishing 46th at the Masters Tournament, missing the cut at the PGA Championship, and tying for 43rd at the US Open.

Im picked up his first birdie at the par-3 fourth hole before dropping a shot at the par-4 sixth, leaving him unable to gain ground through the front nine. He found his rhythm on the back nine, making consecutive birdies at the 10th and 11th holes, then converting another at the par-5 14th after a precise third approach shot that landed just short of the cup.

At the par-5 17th, Im's second shot found the rough beside the green, but he kept his composure to complete the birdie and surge into contention.

"The wind wasn't strong, so there were no major difficulties with tee shots or approach shots," Im said. "I had memorized the course strategy in advance and stuck to my routine, and it paid off." He added: "The fairways here feel the narrowest of any Open course I've played, but if you can keep the ball on the fairway, it's not that hard to manage — I think it suits my game well."

Kim Si-woo also turned in a solid round. Kim, whose last victory came at the Sony Open in January 2023, shot a 2-under 68 with three birdies and one bogey, joining defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States in a tie for 13th.

Tom Kim, who claimed his first title in 33 months at last week's Genesis Scotland Open, finished at even-par 70, trading two birdies for two bogeys.

"The wind picked up quite a bit in the afternoon," Tom Kim said. "I would have liked a few more birdies, but overall it was a decent start. On a day like this, I'll need to focus on finding ways to post a lower score."

Ham Jeong-woo and Yang Ji-ho both shot 7-over 77 to share 178th place, leaving them with work to do to make the cut. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, chasing a seventh career major title, got off to a difficult start with a 2-over 72, placing in a tie for 85th.


yjc@heraldcorp.com