Kim Si-woo tees off on the first hole during the second round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, on Friday. [Getty Images]
Kim Si-woo tees off on the first hole during the second round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, on Friday. [Getty Images]

Kim Si-woo moved into a tie for fifth place Friday at The Open Championship, the final major of the year, with a strong second round at the $17.75 million event.

Kim carded six birdies and three bogeys for a 3-under-par 67 on Friday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club (par 70) in Southport, England.

After finishing the first round at 2-under par in a tie for 13th, Kim improved to a 5-under-par total of 135 to join Bryson DeChambeau and Sam Burns of the United States in a tie for fifth. He sits three shots behind solo leader Lucas Herbert of Australia, who leads at 8-under par with a 132 total.

A four-time PGA Tour winner, Kim has posted five top-10 finishes this season and currently sits seventh in the FedEx Cup standings. His best result in a major this year was a tie for 35th at the PGA Championship in May.

Kim struggled on the front nine Friday, managing just one birdie against three bogeys to fall two shots. He turned his round around on the back nine, draining an approximately 6.5-meter birdie putt on the 10th hole (par 4) and adding another birdie on the 11th. He kept the momentum going with consecutive birdies on the 13th and 14th holes, then picked up one more on the 17th (par 5).

"The front nine was a tough start, but the back nine was good," Kim said. "After dropping two shots, I was thinking a lot about missing the cut, but the birdie on 10 turned everything around. Focusing on making birdies on the remaining holes paid off." He added that he plans to "play my own game" in the remaining rounds.

Im Sung-jae, who had shared second place after a 4-under-par 66 in the first round, dropped two shots Friday and fell to a tie for 25th at 2-under par with a 138 total.

"My putting wasn't good, and my approach play was worse than the first day," Im said. "I should have been getting it close and saving pars, but things didn't come together and I made a lot of bogeys on the back nine. I'll work hard from the third round and make sure I get into contention."

Im Sung-jae stands on the 18th green during the second round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, on Friday. [Getty Images]
Im Sung-jae stands on the 18th green during the second round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, on Friday. [Getty Images]

Kim Joo-hyung, who had ended a 33-month victory drought at the Genesis Scotland Open held just before this event, dropped three shots Friday and missed the cut at 3-over par with a 143 total. Yang Ji-ho, who earned his Open berth by winning the Korea Open in May, also missed the cut at 7-over par, as did Ham Jeong-woo, who qualified by winning the Asian Tour's Singapore Open in April and finished at 9-over par.

Herbert, who has one PGA Tour victory and three European Tour (now DP World Tour) wins and currently competes on LIV Golf, fired nine birdies and one bogey Friday for an 8-under-par 62, vaulting into the solo lead two shots clear of the field. His 62 ties the record for the lowest single-round score in major championship history.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler of the United States, the world's top-ranked player, carded a 2-under-par round to finish the second round in a tie for eighth at 4-under par with a 136 total, alongside Tommy Fleetwood of England and Jon Rahm of Spain.


yjc@heraldcorp.com