Sungjae Im, 2nd Place in FedEx Cup "Made New History as Asia's Best Performance"... McIlroy's 'Comeback Victory' (Summary)

Sungjae Im Shows '4-Under Par Strength' Over 22 Holes on Final Day of Tour Championship
Best Ever Asian Performance Surpassing K.J. Choi's 5th Place in 2007 with '7.7 Billion KRW Bonus'
McIlroy Becomes First FedEx Cup 3-Time Champion with '24.1 Billion KRW Jackpot'

Im Sung-jae is preparing for a bunker shot on the 8th hole on the final day of the Tour Championship. Atlanta, USA - Photo by Getty Images/Multivitz

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It was a brilliant finish for Im Sung-jae (24), who advanced to the Tour Championship for the fourth consecutive year.

On the 28th (local time), at East Lake Golf Club (par 70, 7,346 yards) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Im finished the fourth day of the final round of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs (PO) Tour Championship with a 4-under-par over 22 holes, securing a tie for 2nd place (20-under-par). He broke the record for the highest FedEx Cup finish by an Asian player, previously held by ‘Tank’ Choi Kyung-ju (52), who finished 5th in 2007. Im’s previous best was 11th place in 2020. He also earned a bonus of $5.75 million (7.7 billion KRW).

After completing the four holes of the third round, which were postponed due to bad weather and sunset the previous day, with pars, Im continued his birdie streak in the final fourth round. He energized himself with consecutive birdies on holes 3 and 4 and another birdie on hole 6 (par 5). Although he made a bogey on hole 8 (par 4), he immediately recovered with a birdie on hole 9 (par 3). While the leader and ‘Number 1’ Scottie Scheffler (USA) faltered briefly, Im rose to a tie for 2nd place, just one stroke behind.

At hole 11 (par 3), Im faced a crisis when his tee shot got stuck on the bunker lip, but he saved par with a skillful recovery shot. He continued smoothly with a birdie on hole 12, but at hole 14 (also par 4), he made a double bogey after sending his tee shot, second, and third shots into the rough. Im bounced back with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on holes 15 (par 3) and 17 (par 4), but there were not enough holes left to claim his first-ever FedEx Cup championship.

"I’m so happy to have achieved such a good result in the toughest final," said Im Sung-jae. "My tee shots were good, and I made almost no mistakes, which helped me finish in second place." Regarding the double bogey on hole 14, he explained, "My tee shot pushed to the right and landed in the rough," adding, "I also made some shot mistakes afterward." Im smiled and said, "I never thought I would achieve such a good result. I thought finishing fifth would have been good enough."

Rory McIlroy is cheering after securing the Tour Championship victory. Atlanta, USA - Getty Images/Multibits

Lorri McIlroy (Northern Ireland) shot 4-under-par to complete a come-from-behind victory (21-under-par). He became the first-ever three-time FedEx Cup champion, having previously won in 2016 and 2019, and received a bonus of $18 million (24.1 billion KRW). This was his third win of the season and 22nd career victory. McIlroy started the playoffs ranked 7th in the FedEx Cup standings with a 4-under-par advantage and overcame early setbacks, including a triple bogey on the first hole (par 4) and a bogey on the second hole (par 3) in the first round, to stage a dramatic comeback.

At the time, he recalled, "A few weeks ago at the Wyndham Championship, Tom Kim (the English name of Kim Joo-hyung, 20) won despite making a quadruple bogey on the first hole," and said, "Anything can happen in golf," which helped him refocus. McIlroy shot 3-under-par in both the first and second rounds and displayed powerful form with a 7-under-par in the third round. Although he was six strokes behind Scheffler before the final round, he succeeded in overturning the deficit with a characteristic surge, including three consecutive birdies from holes 5 to 7.

FedEx Cup No. 1 Scheffler struggled with a 3-over-par and settled for a tie for 2nd place. Ultimately, he failed to maintain his 10-under-par advantage. Xander Schauffele finished 4th (18-under-par), while Justin Thomas and Max Homa (both from the USA) tied for 5th (17-under-par). Defending champion Patrick Cantlay (USA) finished tied for 7th (16-under-par). Lee Kyoung-hoon (31), making his first appearance at the Tour Championship this year, finished 27th out of 29 players (1-under-par, 279 strokes).

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