Sungjae Im 3rd "Jump to PO Ranking 1st + Prize Money 2nd"... Hatton's First PGA Win

Arnold Palmer Invitational Final Day 1 Over Par, McIlroy Tied 5th, Kang Seonghun Tied 9th

Im Sung-jae is teeing off on the 17th hole on the final day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Orlando, Florida, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Multibits

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] 'Honda Classic Champion' Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics)'s bid for a second consecutive victory stopped at 3rd place.

On the 9th (Korean time) at Bay Hill Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, USA (par 72, 7,454 yards), Im finished the final day of the PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational (total prize money $9.3 million) with a 1-over-par round, completing a 2-under-par total of 286. Tyrrell Hatton (England) claimed his first PGA Tour victory with a 4-under-par 284. Mark Leishman (Australia) finished 2nd at 3-under-par 285, and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) tied for 5th at even par 288.

Im started tied for 4th, three strokes behind, and recorded three birdies, two bogeys, and one double bogey. He opened the scoring early with a birdie on the 3rd hole (par 4), but after exchanging a bogey on the 11th hole (par 4) with a birdie on the 12th hole (par 5), he suffered a double bogey on the 13th hole (par 4) when his second shot landed in the water, halting his momentum. "I used a 52-degree wedge into a 100m headwind, but the distance was slightly short," he lamented. He recovered the 3rd place by offsetting a bogey on the 15th hole (par 4) with a '2-on 2-putt' birdie on the 16th hole (par 5).

Although his green hit rate dropped sharply to 33.33%, he demonstrated excellent crisis management skills. His scrambling rate was 66.67% (7th in the tournament). Im himself rated his performance as "above 95 points," adding, "Competing for back-to-back wins gave me great confidence." Although it is still early in the season, he proudly rose to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup points (PO) ranking with 1,458 points, surpassing Justin Thomas (USA). He is 2nd in the money rankings with $3,862,000.

Tyrell Hatton is holding the trophy and posing for a commemorative photo right after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Orlando, Florida, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

Hatton showed remarkable tenacity. He walked a tightrope with two bogeys and two birdies in the front nine, then suffered a critical double bogey when his tee shot on the 12th hole (par 4) flew into the water hazard. However, Hatton managed to par all the remaining seven holes, securing a one-stroke victory. Primarily active on the European Tour, he has been competing on the PGA Tour since 2017 and claimed his first title in just his 60th event. The winner's prize money was $1,674,000 (approximately 2 billion KRW).

McIlroy made two double bogeys. Although he made two birdies, he also had two bogeys and lost four strokes due to a penalty after shaky tee shots on the 6th hole (par 5) third shot and the 9th hole (par 4). Following a 2-over-par final round at the Genesis Invitational last month, where he was co-leader, his finishing strength appears lacking. Including his World Golf Championships (WGC) HSBC Champions victory in November last year, he was content with top-5 finishes in all six tournaments of the 2020 season.

From Korea, Kang Sung-hoon (33) finished tied for 9th at 1-over-par 289. After surging with a 4-under-par round on the second day to take the top of the leaderboard, he fell away from the winning contention due to a 6-over-par slump the previous day, leaving some regrets. Lee Kyung-hoon (29), who played as a substitute for defending champion Francesco Molinari (Italy), finished tied for 42nd at 8-over-par 296 after shooting 7-over-par. An Byeong-hun (29, both CJ Logistics) finished tied for 56th at 11-over-par 299.

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