Im Sungjae's 'Birdie Show'... 'Have You Ever Seen the Most Birdies in 72 Holes?' (Summary)

11 Birdies in the Final 4th Round at The Sentry Opening
34 Birdies in Four Days: The Divine 'Julbirdie Hunt'
Set a New Single-Season Record for Most Birdies in 2021

‘Birdie Hunter’ Im Sung-jae made new history on the PGA Tour.

On the 7th (local time), at the Plantation Course (par 73, 7,596 yards) in Kapalua, Hawaii, USA, during the final 4th round of the 2024 season opener The Sentry (total prize money $20 million), he collected 11 birdies (1 bogey). Over four days, he made 34 birdies, becoming the record holder for the most birdies in 72 holes since the PGA Tour started tracking this record in 1983. The previous record was 32, set by Jon Rahm (Spain) and others in this tournament in 2022. Im Sung-jae also set the single-season record for most birdies with 498 in 2021.

Im Sung-jae is celebrating after making the 34th birdie, the most in a single PGA Tour event, on the 18th hole of the Sentry Tournament of Champions 4th round opening match.
[Kapalua (Hawaii)=AFP·Yonhap News]

After three consecutive birdies on holes 1 to 3, Im took a brief breather with a bogey on the 4th hole (par 4), then added three more birdies on holes 7, 9, and 10. He then fired four consecutive birdies from holes 12 to 15, breaking the 72-hole birdie record. He added another birdie on the final 18th hole (par 5), extending his record to 34 birdies. His putting stood out with 1.40 putts per green in regulation and a 100% bunker save rate.

In the first round of this tournament, Im made 9 birdies (1 bogey), tying his personal record for most birdies in a round, which he set during the third round of The Players Championship, known as the ‘fifth major,’ in March last year. He continued smoothly with 8 birdies (1 bogey) in the second round, but in the third round, he made 6 birdies, 4 bogeys, and 1 double bogey, failing to reduce his score and falling behind in the race for the title. His final standing was a tie for 5th place (25 under par, 267 strokes) alongside world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA).

In a post-match interview, Im Sung-jae said, "I made a lot of birdies this week, but I made a mistake yesterday that I shouldn’t have, so I had a lot on my mind." He added, "That’s why I worked hard today and was able to finish with good play." He continued, "I’m glad to have started the season well with a good result from the first tournament. I took care of my body during the winter season and spent time well in Korea, and that effect showed in the first tournament of the new year, allowing me to have a good start."

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