"3-Stroke Behind 3rd Place" Im Sung-jae, Can He Aim for a Comeback in the 'War of Money'?

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Im Sung-jae is carefully reading the putting line on the 5th hole of the 3rd round at the Tour Championship. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hee-jun Jang] 'FedEx Cup victory is in sight.'

Im Sung-jae (24), who entered the 'war of money,' reduced his score by 4 strokes despite severe weather conditions. On the 27th (local time), at East Lake Golf Club (par 70) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, during the third round of the Tour Championship, the final event of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs (PO), Im Sung-jae recorded 4 under par with 1 eagle, 3 birdies, and 1 bogey up to the 14th hole (par 4) before the game was suspended due to lightning. With the game postponed due to sunset, Im Sung-jae is in 3rd place (16 under par). He is only 3 strokes behind 'Number 1' Scottie Scheffler (USA, 19 under par).

Im Sung-jae showed great momentum by reducing 5 strokes over 4 holes from the 5th to the 8th. After a birdie on the 5th hole (par 4), he even made an eagle on the 6th hole (par 5), and added consecutive birdies on the 7th and 8th holes. After parring 5 holes, he made a bogey on the 14th hole when his tee shot landed in the rough. Im Sung-jae, who has advanced to the Tour Championship for 4 consecutive years, has his best result in this tournament as 11th place in 2020. K.J. Choi (52) holds the highest record for a Korean player in this tournament with 5th place in 2007.

Scheffler exchanged 1 birdie and 1 bogey over 12 holes. He failed to reduce his strokes and allowed competitors to catch up. Xander Schauffele (USA) is in 2nd place (18 under par), 1 stroke behind, and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is in 4th place (15 under par). Jon Rahm (Spain), Justin Thomas, and defending champion Patrick Cantlay (all USA) are tied for 5th place (4 under par).

Lee Kyoung-hoon (31), making his first appearance at the Tour Championship, recorded 4 birdies and 3 bogeys to reduce his score by 1 stroke. He is in 26th place (1 under par). The third round could not be completed due to lightning near the tournament venue. Only 15 out of 29 players completed the round normally. The remaining matches will be played before the 4th round on the 28th, followed by the final day of competition.

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