By Rahul Banerji
He may be only 21, but South Korea’s Sungjae Im has been on the radar for quite some time now. Sunday at The Honda Classic in Florida showed why.
Back in December, Ernie Els unleashed something special at the Presidents Cup. The Internationals went down to the US by just two points, but have embarked on something of a revenge spree since then.
Four of 10 events decided on the PGA Tour since the showdown in Melbourne have been won by members of Ernie’s pack, Im being the latest to join the party.
Im line up alongside Aussies Cameron Smith (Sony Open, Hawaii), Marc Leishman (Farmers Insurance Open, Torrey Pines) and Adam Scott (The Genesis Invitational, California) ) in the winner’s circle since that traumatic Sunday at the Royal Melbourne.
In between, Justin Thomas (Sentry Tournament of Champions, Hawaii), Webb Simpson (Waste Management Phoenix Open) and Patrick Reed (WGC Mexico Championship) are the three American winners from Tiger Woods’s team, but clearly, the chemistry worked by the South African legend continues.
Close finish
Im rode a close battle for honours on Sunday at the PGA National Resort and Spa to come home by one shot on 6-under par 274 (72-66-70-66) from Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood was part of the lead battle for much of the way but both he and Hughes could not convert putts that would have let them catch Im in the lead.
Another South Korean, Byeong Hun An, and Lee Westwood of England were tied for third place alongside two Americans on 3-under.
Im had a string of top 10 finishes last year to emerge as rookie of the year on the PGA Tour, and it all helped, he said later.
“I’ve been in this spot many times. … I just felt like the experience really helped,” Im pointed out at his winner’s press conference.
“After being so close so many weeks, and having a bunch of top 10s, using that experience this week, just hope to really work hard and move forward, and become a winner again very soon.
“I Like being here (in the US, just the travel, food and everything else. I’m sometimes sad that I am unable to visit Korea as often now but I’m very happy and satisfied to be here and just to play golf,” Im said.
“I don’t really look at it as work. It’s a chance to go out and do what I love.”
Steady rise
Besides his rookie of the year run in 2019, Im was the Korn Ferry tour player of the year and topped the money list in his first year in the US.
“Even after winning Rookie of the Year and having a few chances to win, I really wanted to get that win,” Im said.
“I had a few good chances that slipped away, but I’m still very grateful that I could win at such a young age, and to have it happen as fast as it did, I’m very happy and satisfied.”
Overall, this was Im’s 50th start on the PGA Tour and the Honda Classic win now sees him up in second place on the FedEx Cup standings thanks to the 500 points earned at West Palm Beach.
Im also became the fifth player under 22 to win on the PGA Tour in the last seven months after Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann and Viktor Hovland.
Overall, he is the seventh from South Korea to win on the PGA Tour, and has more than a few from his home country lining up for success on the biggest stage of them all.
Also read: Tiger leads the way as US break Internationals’ hearts with Sunday sweep
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