Sungjae Im Shoots 7-Under with Two Eagles: "A Great Start"

Im Leads Valspar Championship First Round by One Stroke

Snedeker in Second, Schauffele Seventh, Hovland Thirty-Seventh

Kim Joohyun Tied for Seventeenth, Kim Sunghyun Tied for Sixty-Sixth

Sungjae Im made a swift comeback.

On March 19 (local time), at the Copperhead Course (par 71, 7,352 yards) of Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida, during the first round of the PGA Tour Valspar Championship (total prize money: $9.1 million), Im recorded two eagles, six birdies, and three bogeys. Shooting a 7-under-par 64, Im climbed to the top of the leaderboard for the first time in a while. He is one stroke ahead of second-place Brant Snedeker (USA, 6-under-par 65).

Sungjae Im is looking at the green on the 15th hole of the first round at the Valspar Championship. Palm Harbor=AFP Yonhap News Photo by AFP

This year, Im had to sit out tournaments in January and February due to a lingering wrist injury and only began his season at the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this month. He missed the cut at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship, but by climbing near the top of the leaderboard in his third tournament of the year, he has shaken off his slump and paved the way for a turnaround. Im has two career victories on the PGA Tour. His most recent win was at the Shriners Children's Open in October 2021.

Im started his round on a high note with a birdie on the 10th hole (par 4), then sank an eagle putt of more than 5 meters on the 11th hole (par 5). He followed that with another birdie on the 12th hole (par 4), reducing his score by four strokes over the first three holes. On the first hole of the back nine (1st hole, par 5), he made a roughly 10-meter eagle putt, and on the 3rd hole (par 4), he drained a birdie putt from an even longer distance of about 13 meters. Im added another birdie on the 5th hole (par 5), at one point reaching 9-under-par, but it was disappointing that he later recorded two bogeys.

Xander Schauffele (USA) is tied for seventh at 3-under-par 68, defending champion Viktor Hovland (Norway) is tied for 37th at 1-under-par 70, and Brooks Koepka (USA) is tied for 47th at even-par 71. Among Korean players, Kim Joohyun is tied for 17th at 2-under-par 69 with one eagle, four birdies, two bogeys, and one double bogey. Kim Sunghyun is tied for 66th at 1-over-par 72, with three birdies, two bogeys, and one double bogey.

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