Alex Cejka’s father escaped from Communist Czechoslovakia. (AFP)

Augusta: One is the son of a South Korean rice farmer, the other the son of a father who risked death to escape Communism. Both were near the top of the US Masters leaderboard on Friday, adding a bit of international intrigue and adventure to the year’s first major.

Germany’s Alex Cejka, who was spirited out of Communist Czechoslovakia in 1980, carded a second successive two-under 70 to join twice former champion Jose Maria Olazabal in second place on 140, two shots adrift of leader Justin Rose of Britain.

But it was K.J. Choi, the son of a rice farmer who never even saw a golf course until he was 16, who left a lasting mark on the Masters when he blazed through the front nine of his second round in a record equalling six-under 30.

The 33-year-old former weightlifter stumbled on the back nine, four bogeys detracting from his sublime performance. Choi, however, still finished the day on three-under 141, tied for third place with Phil Mickelson.

With a record 42 overseas entries the story-lines at the 68th Masters have taken on a distinct international flavour.

None, however, was more riveting than Cejka’s cloak and dagger tale from the chilling days of the Cold War.

On holiday in 1980, nine-year-old Cejka and his father dived into a murky river in the fading light and swam to freedom. Once settled in Germany, Cejka took up golf and after six trips to qualifying school finally earned his European Tour card.

“I was actually too young to understand what was going on,” recalled Cejka, who has twice returned to the country from which he fled to win the Czech Open.

“I didn’t know the risks, I didn’t know what could happen if they caught us. I think they would shoot us if they caught us. It was Communism, no one was allowed to get out. I can’t remember which one but I know we swam a river. I didn’t know where we were going, what was happening, and suddenly he hugged me and said, ‘we did it’, and we were in Germany.”