'PO 5th Place' Im Sung-jae "This Time's Target is Wyndham Rewards"... Simpson's 'March to 3rd Win'

PGA Tour 2020 Season Finale Wyndham Championship Entry, Koepka Competes for Victory, Korea's Kang Sung-hoon, Lee Kyoung-hoon, and Kim Si-woo Join

Sungjae Im challenges for '2nd place in PO ranking' at the Wyndham Championship.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "This time, the target is Wyndham Rewards."

'PO Ranking 5th' Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics) will compete in the Wyndham Championship (total prize money $6.4 million), which opens on the night of the 13th (Korean time) at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA (par 70, 7,127 yards). Moreover, this tournament is the final regular season event of the 2020 PGA Tour season. The FedEx Points (PO) ranking is tallied, and the top 10 players share a total bonus of $10 million (11.85 billion KRW), with $2 million going to the first place.

Im Sung-jae was the first Asian player to win the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year last year. It is noteworthy that he played as many as 35 tournaments. Truly, he has iron stamina. Leading with seven top 10 finishes including a tie for 3rd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he was the only rookie to advance to the 'PO final third round' Tour Championship. In March, he finally secured his first PGA Tour victory at the Honda Classic and gained momentum with a tie for 3rd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

It is unfortunate that the tour was suspended due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). In fact, since the Charles Schwab Challenge in June, he has been on a downward trend with three missed cuts in eight tournaments. For now, it is urgent to tune his competitive shot sense ahead of the 'Playoffs (PO)' starting next week. The motivation is further enhanced by the fact that he can secure 2nd place in the PO with 500 points for a win. In addition to the prize money, he will receive an extra $1.5 million (1.78 billion KRW).

Webb Simpson has embarked on a 'third win march' at the Wyndham Championship.

Justin Thomas has already secured 1st place and pocketed $2 million. 2nd place Collin Morikawa and 4th place Bryson DeChambeau (both from the USA) have declared rest. Im Sung-jae is competing for the 'bonus race' alongside 3rd place Webb Simpson (USA). Simpson's form is formidable. He has already swept two wins early in the season at the Phoenix Open in February and the RBC Heritage in June, making a 'march to 3 wins.' He is aiming to avenge his 2nd place finish last year.

World No. 7 Brooks Koepka is another favorite for the win. Riding a rising trend with a runner-up finish at the World Golf Championships (WGC) FedEx St. Jude Invitational on the 3rd and a tie for 29th at the PGA Championship on the 9th. Defending champion J.T. Poston has a shared dream of defending his title. Last year, he left a thrilling memory by shooting 8-under on the final day. Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth (both USA), and Justin Rose (England) have joined the competition for the title.

Korea is represented by Kang Sung-hoon (33, ranked 59th), Lee Kyoung-hoon (29, ranked 104th), and Kim Si-woo (25, CJ Logistics, ranked 121st). The 'PO' is a 'survival game' starting with the first round The Northern Trust (125 players), followed by the second round BMW Championship (70 players), and the final third round Tour Championship (30 players). This is why they must raise their rankings as much as possible. Kim Si-woo's advancement to the first round and Lee Kyoung-hoon's to the second round are not easy. Locally, securing a first-round ticket for Sergio Garcia (Spain, ranked 134th) has become an off-course topic.

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