Home > Sports > Golf

Two Korean players head to Augusta this week seeking iconic green Masters jacket

Published: 07 Apr. 2026, 13:04

Kim Si-woo plays his shot from the sixth tee during the final round of the RBC Heritage 2025 at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 20, 2025, in Hilton Head, South Carolina. [AFP/YONHAP]

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

Korea has had at least one player in the exclusive Masters field at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, every year since 2003. Starting Thursday, 91 players will tee off at the PGA Tour's first major of the year, including former Masters champions, the top 12 players from 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 was a tie for 12th in 2021.

The thirty-year-old tied for 10th at his Masters tuneup, the Valero Texas Open, over the weekend. A four-time PGA Tour winner, Kim has 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 earned, more than any other Korean. He is also tops among his fellow countrymen in the FedEx Cup standings at No. 15.

Im, one of the most consistent players on the tour in recent years, just 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 the lead at 54 holes.

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. That finish remains the best showing by a Korean player at the tournament.

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

Yonhap