Six birdies, no bogeys... three consecutive birdies on holes 12-14

Zhou Yanhan, Florimo tied for first; Stenson in joint fourth

Im Sung-jae plays a shot. [Getty Images]
Im Sung-jae plays a shot. [Getty Images]

Im Sung-jae opened the Asian Tour SJM Macao Open with a 6-under-par round Thursday, sharing the lead after the first round.

Playing at Macao Golf and Country Club (par 70), Im carded six birdies against no bogeys for a 64, tying for the top spot with Zhou Yanhan of China and Will Florimo of Australia. The trio holds a one-stroke advantage over the group at 5-under 65.

A two-time PGA Tour winner, Im finished tied for seventh at this event last year. He made a strong start this time, positioning himself in contention for the title from the opening round.

Starting on the first hole, Im picked up birdies on the par-4 third and par-4 fifth to go 2 under through the front nine. On the back nine, he strung together three consecutive birdies from the par-5 12th through the par-5 13th and par-3 14th. He added one more birdie on the par-5 18th to close out a bogey-free card.

Im hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation for an 83.3 percent greens-in-regulation rate and needed just 29 putts.

Among the three co-leaders, Im was the only one to finish without a bogey. Zhou posted seven birdies and one bogey, while Florimo had eight birdies and two bogeys.

Henrik Stenson of Sweden, the 2016 British Open champion, joined Jose Toledo of Guatemala, Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand, Jed Morgan of Australia, Kelvin Siah of Macao and Wu Ashun of China in the group at 5-under 65, tied for fourth.

The tournament carries a $1 million purse and runs through Sunday.


yjc@heraldcorp.com