Sungjae Im's Comeback Victory 'Birdie King Power'... "2nd Career Win at 100th Tournament" (Summary)

Schriners Children's Open Final Day 9-Under Comeback '4-Stroke Victory', Wolf Finishes 2nd

Im Sung-jae (right) is sharing joy with his caddie immediately after winning the Shriners Children's Open. Las Vegas, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] Im Sung-jae (23, CJ Logistics) has finally reached the ‘2-win milestone’.

On the 11th (Korean time), at the final day of the Shriners Children’s Open (total prize money $7 million) held at Summerlin TPC in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (par 71, 7,255 yards), he surged with a 9-under-par round to achieve a dominant 4-stroke victory (24-under-par 260). It is interesting that this was his 100th event on the PGA Tour. This marks his first win of the 2021/2022 season and his second career win after 1 year and 7 months since the Honda Classic in March last year, with a winner’s prize of $1.26 million (15.1 billion KRW).

Im Sung-jae caused a sensation by simultaneously passing the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) Qualifying Tournament (QT) in 2015. He traveled between Korea and Japan for two years until 2017, then passed the PGA Korn Ferry (2nd tier) Tour QT in 2nd place in December and moved to the United States. In 2018, he swept two Korn Ferry Tour wins and quickly earned his PGA Tour card. In 2019, he demonstrated consistency by finishing in the ‘top 10’ seven times in 35 events, becoming the first Asian to win Rookie of the Year.

Im Sung-jae is holding the trophy and posing for a commemorative photo immediately after winning the Shriners Children's Open. Las Vegas, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Multibits

The highlight was the 2020 Honda Classic. In just 50 events, he became the seventh Korean champion in history. In November, at the ‘Fall Masters,’ he faced then world No. 1 Dustin Johnson (USA) in the final group and finished second, further boosting his presence. This year, his proudest achievement is a 3rd place finish at the BMW Championship, the second leg of the Playoffs (PO), in August. This helped him advance to the ‘PO final 3rd stage’ Tour Championship, which only 30 players qualify for, for the second consecutive year.

It is worth noting that Im Sung-jae was the birdie king (498 birdies) in the 2020/2021 season. He also made 26 birdies in this tournament. Starting the day in 6th place, 3 strokes behind, he made 9 birdies. He opened the scoring early with a birdie on the first hole (par 4), followed by birdies on the 4th hole (par 4) and consecutive birdies on the 6th and 7th holes, gaining momentum. From the 9th hole to the 13th hole on the back nine, he made 5 consecutive birdies, and parred the remaining 4 holes. “The lack of wind made playing comfortable,” he said, adding his hunter instinct by saying, “I will challenge for multiple wins this season.”

Matthew Wolff (USA) finished 2nd (20-under-par 260), while Sam Burns (USA), the Sanderson Farms champion, stopped his ‘2-win streak’ at a tie for 14th place (15-under-par 269). Struggling on the greens, he lost a stroke with a double bogey on the 18th hole (par 4). Lee Kyung-hoon (30) joined this group. Kang Sung-hoon (34, both CJ Logistics) finished tied for 27th (12-under-par 272). Although he shot a stormy 10-under-par on the first day, he was held back by a 2-over-par round on the second day.

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