Kim Si-woo surges to T5 at The Open with back-nine birdie blitz

Kim Si-woo fired a back-nine birdie blitz to climb into a tie for fifth place at the 154th Open Championship, the final men's major of the season, which carries a purse of $17.75 million.

Kim carded six birdies and three bogeys for a 3-under-par 67 on Friday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club (par 70) in Southport, England, moving to 5-under 135 for the tournament and joining Bryson DeChambeau and Sam Burns of the United States in a share of fifth.

Lucas Herbert of Australia, competing on the LIV Golf League, seized the outright lead with a stunning 8-under 62 — nine birdies against a single bogey — to reach 8-under 132 for the tournament. He holds a two-stroke advantage over the trio tied for second: Jackson Suber, Cameron Young and Ryan Gerard, all of the United States.

Herbert's 62 ties the all-time record for the lowest single-round score in major championship history. The mark was previously shared by Branden Grace of South Africa (third round, 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale), Xander Schauffele of the United States (first round, 2023 US Open at LACC), Rickie Fowler of the United States (first round, 2023 US Open at LACC), Schauffele again (first round, 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla) and Shane Lowry of Ireland (third round, 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla).

In a post-round interview, Herbert said Friday's round was the most complete of his career, though he narrowly missed a birdie on the final hole that would have set a new record of 61. "My experience playing various courses on LIV Golf was a huge help in attacking Royal Birkdale in the strong wind," he said. "I'll keep this momentum going on moving day."

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States, defending his title, shot 2-under for the second straight day to sit at 4-under 136, sharing eighth place with Jon Rahm of Spain and Tommy Fleetwood of England, among others.

Kim's round was defined by his back nine, where he made five birdies without a bogey. He had struggled on the front nine, losing two strokes with three bogeys and only one birdie amid putting troubles. The turnaround came at the par-4 10th, where he holed a tricky 6.5-meter birdie putt to shift the momentum. He followed with birdies at the 11th, 13th and 14th holes, then picked up one more stroke at the par-5 17th with a two-putt birdie, setting up a third-round tee time in the top five.

"The back nine was good," Kim said in his official post-round interview. "The front nine was a tough start. I lost two shots and started thinking a lot about missing the cut. The birdie at 10 turned everything around. I just focused on making birdies on the remaining holes, and it worked."

Im Sung-jae, who had shared second place after the opening round, dropped to a tie for 25th after carding one birdie and three bogeys for a 2-over round, leaving him at 2-under 138 for the tournament. "It was a day I could have played well enough, but my putting wasn't good," Im said. "My approach play was also worse than the first day. I needed to get it close and save pars, but nothing really worked out. That led to a lot of bogeys on the back nine."

Kim Joo-hyung, who won the Genesis Scottish Open last week, struggled to a 3-over 73 and missed the cut at 3-over 143 for the tournament. He made three birdies but gave back six bogeys.

Yang Ji-ho (7-over) and Ham Jeong-woo (9-over) also missed the cut. Yang played even par on Friday, exchanging two birdies and two bogeys, but the damage from his 7-over opening round on Thursday proved too much to overcome. "In the first round, I think I was very nervous because it was my first major, and things just didn't go my way," Yang said. "I was intimidated. I wanted to play well so badly that I fell apart early on. But today, knowing I might not get another chance to play here, I focused on every single shot. I think it will be a good memory."