[Masters] Im Sung-jae Runner-up "A New History for Asian Golf"

Choi Jong-il's 3-Under 'Strong Performance', Best Asian Player Result in Debut: "Will Be a Memorable Experience"

Im Sung-jae (right) shakes hands with winner Dustin Johnson after finishing as runner-up on the final day of the Masters. Augusta, Georgia, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] "A runner-up achievement in the first appearance."

This is the Masters (total prize money $11.5 million) report card of Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics). On the 16th (Korean time), at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, USA (par 72, 7,475 yards), he added 3 under par on the final day to finish tied for 2nd place (15 under par 273) with Cameron Smith (Australia). The prize money is $1,012,000 (1.12 billion KRW). He is the first Asian national player to finish as runner-up at the Masters, surpassing 'Tank' Choi Kyung-ju (50, SK Telecom)'s 3rd place in 2004.

Im Sung-jae started tied for 2nd place, 4 strokes behind, and recorded 5 birdies and 2 bogeys. While Dustin Johnson (USA) stumbled with consecutive bogeys on holes 4 and 5, Im made consecutive birdies on holes 2 and 3 to close the gap to 1 stroke. However, on hole 6 (par 3), he missed a short 1.2m par putt, which halted his momentum. Johnson, on the other hand, sank a 2m birdie putt and quickly extended his lead to 3 strokes. On hole 7 (par 4), his second shot landed in a bunker, resulting in a bogey.

After changing the momentum with a birdie on hole 8 (par 5), he added 'stepping stone birdies' on holes 13 and 15, but there were not enough holes left. Im Sung-jae is the next-generation star of the PGA Tour. Last year, he was the first Asian player to win Rookie of the Year, and in March, he became a champion at the Honda Classic in just his 50th event. He is the 7th Korean winner in history, following Choi Kyung-ju, Yang Yong-eun (48), Bae Sang-moon (34), Noh Seung-yul (29), Kim Si-woo (25, CJ Logistics), and Kang Sung-hoon (33, CJ Logistics).

Im Sung-jae was satisfied with reaching runner-up starting from the champion group. "Since it was my first Masters appearance, my initial goal was just to make the cut," he said, adding, "Today will be a day I remember a lot." Regarding the bogeys on holes 6 and 7, he expressed regret: "On hole 6, I made a good approach shot leaving about 4 feet, but I got nervous and couldn't make the stroke I wanted," and "On hole 7, the wind was stronger than I expected."

About the tournament winner Dustin Johnson, who finished with the lowest score (20 under par), he said, "Watching him from the side, he makes golf look so easy," and evaluated, "His driver shots go far and straight, and his second shots always feel like short irons, making him an overwhelming opponent." Im Sung-jae, who said he had been struggling with putting recently, smiled brightly, saying, "I got a lot of help after switching to a new putter this week," and "My approach shots also went as well as I wanted, which led to good results."

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