Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyama enjoy 'tired' but fast starts at BMW Championship

Editor's note: Hideki Matsuyama withdrew from the BMW Championship prior to Round 2 with lower back pain.

Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama stayed hot with his new putter in an opening 5-under 67 at the BMW Championship as Korea’s Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim enjoyed fast starts to keep the good times rolling for Asian golfers in the FedExCup Playoffs.

Four days after securing a two-stroke victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship for his second win of the season and 10th PGA TOUR title, the 32-year-old Matsuyama was in his element once again, grabbing solo second at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado with six birdies, which included a monster 74-foot birdie conversion on the fourth hole.

Im and Kim are determined to join the winner’s party in this week’s penultimate Playoffs event, shooting a 68 and 69 respectively for T3 and T7 as they chase early leader Keegan Bradley. The American was the last man to qualify for the top-50 BMW Championship on Sunday. He opened at Castle Pines with a bogey-free 66.

The 26-year-old Im is seeking a third PGA TOUR win and opened his campaign with six birdies. He was particularly sharp with his short game as he scrambled for six par saves to stay on the leaderboard. With Castle Pines being over 6,200 feet above sea level, players have had to make adjustments to distance control as balls fly further through thinner air.

“It starts downhill and goes uphill towards the back nine," said Im. "I feel like I'm getting tired physically into the back nine. I feel like being out of breath when I go uphill. It was hard to measure and calculate the yardages and there was some wind on the back nine. I had to calculate the yardage, then minus off 10%. This was little confusing. Overall, it was not very easy but I had a great start and was able to finish strong.”

Im holds the distinction of recording Asia’s best finish in the FedExCup when he tied for second behind 2022 champion Rory McIlroy. He is currently 10th in the standings and will make his sixth successive appearance in the Playoffs finale next week, the TOUR Championship at East Lake.

Compatriot Si Woo Kim, who needs at least a solo 17th or better to qualify for a third TOUR Championship appearance, put himself in a strong position following a six-birdie round that included a chip-in birdie on the fifth and a near hole-in-one on the par-3 16th hole, where his ball skirted the edge of the cup.

“I have 5- and 6-iron, inbetween numbers," said four-time TOUR winner Kim. "With the altitude, I try to hit it hard with a 6, and I saw as soon as it landed, I can see it going right at it. It was close. Too hard maybe. It was a good start, and then back nine, it was getting a little getting tired with these hills. I was trying to keep drinking, trying to keep breathing, but it's definitely harder than last week. But trying to keep focused. Hit a lot of good shots, hit a lot of good putts. A couple misses, but hopefully next couple days I can get better.”