'Masters Runner-up' Im Sung-jae "Looking Forward to April Next Year~"

Invitation Sent to 84 Including Past Augusta National Champions; Byeong-Hun An, Sung-Hoon Kang, Si-Woo Kim, and Kyung-Hoon Lee Remain 'In Progress'

Im Sung-jae (right) is greeting Dustin Johnson on the 18th hole of the final day of the "Autumn Masters." Augusta, Georgia, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] "The next target is a major."

'Honda Classic Champ' Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics) is already looking forward to the Masters in April next year. He has already secured a ticket as this year's runner-up. Originally scheduled for April, the event was postponed by seven months due to the impact of COVID-19, and on the 16th of last month, at the 'Autumn Masters,' he tied for 2nd place. On the final day, he competed for the championship in the final group with world No. 1 Dustin Johnson (USA), drawing even more spotlight.

It is interesting that this is a historic achievement for an Asian player. He surpassed 'Tank' K.J. Choi (50, SK Telecom)'s 3rd place in 2004. Although he caught up to within one stroke early on, he was ultimately stopped by Johnson's wall. Following a tie for 22nd at the US Open in September, attention should be paid to his demonstration of major competitiveness. Im Sung-jae also cheered, saying, "I am very satisfied with this tremendous result." Recently, he moved into a house at Sugarloaf Golf Club near Atlanta, Georgia, USA, establishing a solid base camp.

Augusta National, which hosts the Masters, sent invitations to 84 players at the end of the year. These include 20 past champions, major winners from the past five years, The Players champions from the past three years, US Amateur Championship winners and runners-up, British Amateur Championship winners, and the top 12 from last year's Masters. Currently, Im Sung-jae is the only Korean player invited. An Byeong-hun (29), Kang Sung-hoon (33), Kim Si-woo (25), and Lee Kyoung-hoon (29) are aiming to break into the 'Top 50' in the world rankings as of March 30 next year.

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