Lee Shines as Weather Intervenes at Augusta

Augusta, Georgia, United States: Korean Lee Kyoung-hoon fired the joint low score of the day with a five-under 67 on Friday to qualify for the weekend rounds at the weather-hit 87th Masters Tournament.

The year’s opening Major was twice disrupted by inclement weather before play was suspended for the day.

That was after American Brooks Koepka signed for a bogey-free 67 and a 12-under 132 total, tied for third lowest in the tournament history, to seize the clubhouse lead at Augusta National.

World number three Jon Rahm of Spain is on nine-under through nine holes of his second round while US Amateur champion Sam Bennett carded a second straight 68 to sit in solo third on eight-under.

A year after missing the cut on his Masters debut, Lee, who is a two-time PGA Tour winner and a former Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) participant, hit seven birdies, including four over his closing 10 holes for a share of 18th position on three-under.

Although the cut for the leading 50 players and ties will not be made until the completion of round two, now set for Saturday morning, at least two other Koreans look set to join Lee in playing all four rounds.

Masters rookie Tom Kim Joo-hyung, the 2021 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, showed his mettle by fighting back from three dropped shots at the turn as he stormed home with three birdies over his last six holes for a 72, adding to his opening 70 for tied 22nd place on two-under.

Meanwhile, four-time PGA Tour winner, Kim Si-woo also carded a 72 to sit in a share of 44th place.

A fourth Korean in the elite 88-man starting field, Im Sung-jae, was among those affected by the weather disruptions and will return Saturday morning with 10 holes to complete. He is level par through eight holes and one-under for the tournament, as he seeks a third top-10 from four starts at Augusta National.

The Asian challenge will also turn to 2021 Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama, who was cruising on three-under for the tournament when play was suspended. The 31-year-old Japanese, a two-time winner of the AAC, birdied the two par-fives on his outward nine, leaving himself in position to inch closer to the clubhouse leader.

Other AAC alumni set to make the cut include New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (tied 18th on 141) and Australian Cameron Smith, the 2022 Open Championship winner (currently tied 22nd on two-under through eight holes of his second round).

With four holes of his second round remaining, Japan’s Kazuki Higa is at four-over and in need of a strong finish if he's to progress, as is Australian Min Woo Lee (six-over through 15).

Harrison Crowe, the reigning AAC winner, is two-over through 16 holes of his second round and five-over in total. The siren to suspend play went off just as his short birdie putt on the par-three 16th slipped past the cut. Crowe was still on the green moments later when three trees were blown over to the left of the 17th tee.

Min Woo Lee, playing in the same flight as Crowe, was reported as saying he saw a woman standing in between the trunks of two of the trees that fell, roughly 10 yards apart. Fortunately, no-one was hurt.

Defending Masters champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler endured a rough day with a 75 as he slipped out of contention on one-under while second-ranked Rory McIlroy crashed out as his hopes of completing a career Grand Slam ended with a dismal 77.

Tiger Woods, a five-time Masters champion and 82-time PGA Tour winner, is battling for a record-equalling 23rd successive cut at Augusta National. He was on the projected cut line at two-over with seven holes to play when play was halted.

Competing in his first Masters courtesy of his triumph in the US Amateur last year, Bennett, 23, is making the most of the opportunity to challenge the world’s best golfers. With five birdies against a lone bogey on Friday, the American is now dreaming of a fairytale finish.

Bennett, whose opening 68 was the lowest score by an amateur in the first round since Ken Venturi in 1956, said: “I just wanted to put two good rounds up. I knew my golf was good enough to compete here. I found myself in a situation that now I’ve got a golf tournament that I can go out and win.”

As he prepares for the weekend, Bennett will be inspired by his late father’s advice – ‘Don’t wait to do something’, words which are tattooed on his left arm. “I see it every time I’m gripping the club. It’s right there. I use it for some motivation. I know how happy he would be seeing me out here at Augusta National doing what I’m doing. I’ve used it to stay focused and really be locked in to that one shot,” he said.