Sungjae Im "Ties for 8th in Title Defense"... Jones "Wins First Time in 7 Years"

Honda Classic Final Day Even-Par 'Top 10' Entry Satisfaction, Haegi 2nd Place, Wise's Chase Halted by '4-Putt Triple Bogey'

Im Sung-jae is examining the putting line on the 3rd hole of the final day at the Honda Classic. Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist] "Finished tied for 8th."

Im Sung-jae (23, CJ Logistics), ranked 18th in the world, was satisfied with entering the ‘Top 10’ in his first title defense on the PGA Tour. On the 22nd (Korean time), at the final day of the Honda Classic (total prize money $7 million) held at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (par 70, 6,966 yards), he finished with an even-par round and a 5-under total score of 275. Matt Jones (Australia) won by a 5-stroke margin with a 12-under 268. This is Im’s second career win after a long 7 years since the Shell Houston Open in April 2014, with a winner’s prize of $1.26 million (14.24 billion KRW).

Im started tied for 7th and recorded 3 birdies and 3 bogeys. He got off to a great start with a birdie on the first hole (par 4), but then lost it with a bogey on the second hole (par 4), a birdie on the third hole (par 5), and another bogey on the fourth hole (par 4), continuing a ‘rollercoaster play.’ On the back nine, he added another bogey after missing the green on the 10th hole (par 4). Fortunately, he balanced it out with a 2.2m birdie putt on the 16th hole (par 4), the center of the ‘Bear Trap,’ the toughest stretch at the end.

Although he hit a maximum drive of 327 yards, his iron shot green hit rate dropped to 66.67%, making the round difficult. His scrambling ability, which is the skill to save par or better after missing the green, was also lacking at 50.00%. Im himself admitted, "My short game was disappointing," but he took comfort in his first ‘Top 10’ finish in two months since the Sentry Tournament in January. He will challenge for his second career win again at the Dell Technologies Match Play starting on the night of the 24th.

Matt Jones is cheering as his victory is confirmed on the 18th hole of the final day at the Honda Classic. Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA = Getty Images / Multivitz

Jones joined the PGA Tour in 2008 and became a champion after 157 events in 2014. When he won the Shell Houston Open, he dramatically made a 14-meter long birdie putt on the final 18th hole (par 4) to tie for the lead at 15-under 273, then won in a playoff against Matt Kuchar (USA) with a 46-meter approach shot birdie on the first extra hole, drawing even more spotlight. However, he had no wins for the following 7 years, which was frustrating.

Starting the day with a 3-stroke lead, he added 2-under with 5 birdies and 3 bogeys. Jones’s ‘computer-like iron shots’ were impressive, missing the green only once. Chaser Aaron Wise closed to within 1 stroke over the front 9 holes but was hampered by a ‘4-putt triple bogey’ from an 8-meter putt on the 10th hole (par 4). Brandon Hagy finished 2nd (7-under 273), while Wise fell back to a tie for 13th (4-under 276) after a poor 3-over round.

Veteran Phil Mickelson placed tied for 25th (2-under 278). Locally, J.B. Holmes made headlines by plummeting from tied 2nd to tied 46th (2-over 282) in a flash, scoring 9-over for the day with no birdies, 5 bogeys, and 2 double bogeys. Past champions like Keith Mitchell in 2019 and Rickie Fowler in 2017 finished tied for 53rd (3-over 283) and tied for 65th (7-over 287), respectively.

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