Sungjae Im 3-Under "Again 2020"... Hosel Leads with 5-Under Par

PGA Tour Honda Classic Round 1

‘Newlywed’ Im Sung-jae is on a winning march.

Im Sung-jae

On the 24th (Korean time), Im Sung-jae shot a 3-under-par 67 in the first round of the PGA Tour Honda Classic (total prize money $8.4 million) held at the PGA National Champion Course (par 70, 7,125 yards) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA, placing him in a tie for 6th. Billy Horschel and Joseph Bramlett share the lead at 5-under-par 65, while Justin Suh (all from the USA) and two others are tied for 3rd at 4-under-par 66. Some players were unable to complete their rounds due to sunset.

Im Sung-jae made four birdies (one bogey) on the ‘Promised Land’. He reduced three strokes in the front nine with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on holes 1 and 3 and a birdie on the 8th hole (par 4). In the back nine, he recovered from a bogey on the 16th hole (par 4) with a birdie on the final 18th hole (par 5), securing his place for the next round. He powered his game with an accurate shot performance, hitting 78.57% fairways and 72.22% greens in regulation. He is two strokes behind the joint leaders, laying the groundwork for his third career win after 1 year and 4 months since the Shriners Children’s Open in October 2021. Im Sung-jae tasted the joy of his first career victory at this tournament in March 2020.

Kim Sung-hyun, who debuted on the PGA Tour this year, started solidly tied for 14th at 2-under-par 68. Shane Lowry (Ireland) and Minwoo Lee (Australia) are also in this group. Chris Kirk (USA) is tied for 27th at 1-under-par 69, and An Byeong-hun is tied for 49th at even par 70. Noh Seung-yeol is tied for 83rd at 2-over-par 72, and Kang Sung-hoon finished tied for 105th at 3-over-par 73.

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