'PO Ranking No.1' Im Sungjae "Between Hole-in-One and 'Cut Off'"

Hole-in-One on 13th Hole Day Two at Last Year's The Players, "Unique Connection" at 17th Hole with Pongdang

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-joon] "First hole-in-one on the PGA Tour, but 'cut off'."

'Honda Classic Champ' Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics) has a unique connection to the PGA Tour The Players Championship (total prize money $15 million), which opens on the night of the 12th (Korean time) at the Sawgrass TPC in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (par 72, 7,189 yards). Last year, on the second day at the 13th hole (par 3), he made a hole-in-one, but at the 17th hole (par 3), his tee shot landed in the water, resulting in a double bogey in a 'rollercoaster play.'

This is why Im Sung-jae modestly declared, "My first goal is to make the cut." This year, however, the situation is different. Following his Honda Classic win on the 2nd and a 3rd place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the 9th, he is on a steep upward trajectory. He has even taken the No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup Points (PO) ranking with 1,458 points. He expressed his ambition, saying, "It's amazing to have my name at No. 1 in the PO ranking," and "I want to continue to stay among the top ranks."

It is encouraging that the winner's prize for this tournament is the largest on the PGA Tour at $2.7 million (32.4 billion won). Currently ranked 2nd in prize money (3.862 million dollars), although it is still early in the season, he has secured momentum in the race for the top prize money spot. Im Sung-jae, who says "both my condition and shot feel are good," revealed his hunter instinct, saying, "Winning two weeks in a row has given me confidence," and "I want to perform well in rounds 3 and 4 and show a good performance again."

Locally, Im Sung-jae has been nicknamed 'The Machine.' This nickname originated from his display of ironclad stamina, having played a whopping 35 events last year after advancing to the PGA Tour as the Korn Ferry (second-tier) Tour money leader in 2018. Leveraging his consistency with seven top-10 finishes, he became the first Asian player to win Rookie of the Year. Alongside Gary Woodland and Bryson DeChambeau (both from the U.S.), he will start the marathon at 8:13 p.m. at the 10th hole (par 4).

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