[Golf Topic] 'Overcoming COVID-19' Showple "I'm Number 4~"... Im Sungjae 18th Place

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] ○..."World Ranking 6th → 4th."

Xander Schauffele (USA, photo) earned 7.10 points in the weekly official golf world ranking announced on the afternoon of the 11th (Korean time), entering the 'Top 5'. He accumulated points by finishing tied for 5th on the final day of the Sentry Tournament, the first stage of the 2021 PGA Tour held at the Plantation Golf Course (par 73) of Kapalua Resort on Maui Island, Hawaii, USA, earlier that morning. His performance stood out with 2 eagles, 3 birdies, and a strong finish at 7 under par.

Schauffele's participation was even more dramatic. At the end of the year, his girlfriend contracted COVID-19, and a few days later he himself tested positive. He explained, "I experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms but was released from self-quarantine just before the tournament." Harris English (USA), the 'Sentry Tournament Champion,' jumped from 29th to 17th place. He secured his third career win in eight years after a playoff battle with Joaquin Niemann (Chile).

Dustin Johnson (USA), Jon Rahm (Spain), and Justin Thomas remain in the 'Top 3'. Collin Morikawa rose to 5th place following Schauffele, 'Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (both USA) is 6th, and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) dropped three places from 4th to 7th. In Korea, Im Sung-jae (22) is 18th, An Byeong-hun (29) 77th, Kang Sung-hoon (33) 86th, and Kim Si-woo (25, all from CJ Logistics) 100th. The 'Returned Golf Emperor' Tiger Woods (USA) remained at 43rd place.

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