2 Korean veterans set to tee off at Masters

Kim Si-woo tees off on the second hole during the final round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas, Sunday. Reuters-Yonhap

Kim Si-woo and Im Sung-jae will be the two Korean players competing for the iconic green jacket at the Masters this week.

Korea has had at least one player in the exclusive Masters field at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, in every year since 2003. Starting Thursday, there will be 91 players teeing off at the first major of the year, including former Masters champions, the top-12 players at the 2025 Masters, recent major winners and players inside the top 50 in the world rankings.

Kim, the highest-ranked Korean at No. 28, will make his ninth Masters appearance after missing out in 2025. His best performance at Augusta is a tie for 12th in 2021.

Kim, 30, tied for 10th at his Masters tuneup, the Valero Texas Open, over the weekend. The four-time PGA Tour winner had a fast start to the 2026 season, recording three consecutive top-six finishes from late January to early February. He then cooled off with three finishes outside the top 30 in his next four tournaments before making a final round surge for his fourth top-10 finish of the season at the Texas tournament.

Kim is 14th on the money list this season with over $2.5 million, more than any other Korean. He is also tops among his countrymen in the FedEx Cup standings at No. 15.

Im, one of the most consistent players on the tour in recent years, only made his season debut in March after recovering from a wrist injury. Im has made two cuts in his four starts so far, including a tie for fourth at the Valspar Championship in mid-March where he held a 54-hole lead.

The 28-year-old with two career PGA Tour titles will make his seventh consecutive appearance at Augusta National. Though he has fallen to No. 71 in the world rankings, Im will be back at the Masters by virtue of tying for fifth at last year's tournament.

Im has three top-10 finishes in his six prior Masters appearances, including a tie for second in 2020. It remains the best showing by a Korean player at the Masters.

At last year's Masters, Im was one of just two players to shoot under par in all four rounds.