"Rise of the Hidden Dragon" Who is Im Sung-jae?

Qualified as 2018 2nd Half Tour Money Leader, Joined PGA Tour Last Year "Rookie of the Year", Achieved First Win at Honda Classic

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] "The rise of the hidden dragon."

'Honda Classic Champ' Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics, photo) is Korea's next-generation prospect. He is the protagonist who caused a sensation by simultaneously passing the 2015 Korean Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) Qualifying Tournament (QT). After spending two years traveling between Korea and Japan until 2017, he passed the PGA Korn Ferry Tour (2nd tier) QT in December in 2nd place and moved to the United States. In 2018, he swept two wins at the opening and final events, instantly securing his PGA Tour card.

This is why the American media introduced him as the top rookie to watch among the "10 special rookies to watch in the future." Im Sung-jae actually participated in 35 tournaments last year, showing consistency by entering the 'Top 10' seven times, including a tie for 3rd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and was the only rookie to advance to the 'Playoffs (PO) Final 3rd round' Tour Championship. This was the driving force behind becoming the first Asian to win Rookie of the Year. The sudden loss in the Sanderson Farms playoff, which was included in the 2020 season in September, was rather regrettable.

He consoled himself with a victory at the KPGA Genesis Championship in October. This year, he tuned his winning shot sense with a tie for 10th at the American Express in January, and on the 2nd (Korean time), at the Honda Classic (total prize money $7 million) held at PGA National Golf Club (Par 70, 7,125 yards) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA, he finally achieved a '1-stroke victory.' He became the 7th Korean champion in history, following K.J. Choi (50), Yang Yong-eun (48), Bae Sang-moon (34), Noh Seung-yul (29), Kim Si-woo (25), and Kang Sung-hoon (33, CJ Logistics).

It is important to note that Im Sung-jae possesses a powerful average driving distance of 304.6 yards from his sturdy physique of 183 cm in height and 90 kg in weight. His 'needle-like iron shots' with a green hit rate of 69.44% are formidable, and combined with an average of 1.72 putts per hole, his 'water-tight putting' adds to his strength. Although it is still early in the season, this victory propelled him to 2nd place in the FedEx Cup points ranking (1,268 points) and 3rd place in the money ranking ($3.22 million), which is interesting. Im Sung-jae's 'American Dream' is currently ongoing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.