Sungjae

Im

But it was not without some finishing drama. Having made nine birdies, one eagle and a bogey over the course of 17 holes, Im and Mitchell were in danger of dropping another shot on the par-3 ninth, their 18th. Both players hit tee shots into the water on the 198-yard hole. But able to chip from behind the green, Im holed out to save par. Judging by this post-round exchange, the two had quite the time Thursday at TPC Louisiana:

KEITH MITCHELL: He’s my team captain. What else did we learn today? I taught him about Georgia football. Aren’t you a Georgia fan now?

SUNGJAE IM: Georgia fan, Bulldogs.

KEITH MITCHELL: Big Georgia fan. So we taught him offense and defense. Remember the guy that throws the ball? What’s his -- and the guy that catches.

SUNGJAE IM: Catches? I forget.

KEITH MITCHELL: We’ll get you back tomorrow. I’m going to make him remember.

SUNGJAE IM: Quarterback?

KEITH MITCHELL: Yeah, quarterback and receiver. So he’s now the biggest Georgia fan in South Korea. He’s a Georgia resident now. That helps.

The 25-year-old started his afternoon on the 10th tee and traded two birdies with on bogey over the first 13 holes. He remained patient and that patience paid off with a late birdie barrage, circling birdies on four of the last five holes. That included a 36-foot birdie bomb at the par-3 seventh. The young Korean missed the cut in his first two tries at Harbour Town Golf Links but arrived with a T13 and T21 in his last two tries.

McNealy trounced Joaquin Niemann 8-and-6 on day one of last year’s edition but was on the other side of the beatdown today. This margin of victory falls one shy of the Tiger Woods bullying of Stephen Ames (2006). This result was a little less impressive as it was clear that McNealy didn’t have his best stuff today. He swallowed bogeys on six of the first 11 holes. On Friday, Im will take on J.T. Poston (1-0) while McNealy will try to rebound against Tommy Fleetwood (0-1).

The young Korean opened as the pre-tournament betting favorite and he remains the favorite (+550) after today’s round. It was a balanced attack as he gained at least half a stroke in all four sub-categories of strokes gained (+4.1 total). The past champ has now been T16 or better after nine (of 15) rounds played at PGA National. He will start Friday just two shots off the pacesetters at the top (Billy Horschel, Joseph Bramlett).

The young Korean traded four birdies with a pair of bogeys today. For the week he racked up 19 birdies and one eagle, sprinkling 10 bogeys along the way. He gained 4.8 strokes on approach and 4.7 strokes around-the-green but closer to the field in the other two sub-categories of strokes gained. He’s now 4-for-4 at TPC Scottsdale with all four finishes being top 35s and three of them doubling as top 20s. He’ll look to maintain momentum next week at Riv where he is just 1-for-3 with last year’s 33rd-place finish being his lone payday at the California layout.

The young Korean doesn’t have the preferred length off the tee to keep up at Torrey Pines South but the rest of his game is more than sharp enough to make up the difference. That held true this week as he ranked just 53rd off-the-tee but 2nd on approach and 6th in putting. He is now 6-for-7 on the season with a trio of top 10s. He jumps from 52nd to 32nd in the early FedExCup race. The 24-year-old is known for his busy schedule but is not in the field for next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The young Korean is known for his active schedule, playing 122 events over his first four seasons on the PGA TOUR. He pegged it three times to start the new season, posting a 7th at the Shriners, 29th at the ZOZO, and 34th at the CJ CUP. Im also bagged some OWGR points with his T8 at the Hero World Challenge. Staying busy over the break, he said his vows on December 17th to make him a married man ahead of 2023. Gamers should continue to expect a high-volume, high-upside fantasy option as the 24-year-old continues to progress.

The young Korean doesn’t have much to complain about but he wasn’t quite happy with the putter. “I missed a lot of putts today. The putting today, I didn’t putt as well as I wanted to, but I’m happy with the top 10 finish.” He lost roughly a stroke to the field putting today and finished the week ranked 24th in that department. Im ended the week with 40 straight holes without a bogey. The 24-year-old is off to another strong start in the fall and will now head to Japan for the ZOZO Championship. He posted a T3 finish the last time he played the course in Japan (2020 ZOZO).

Im reached 24 under while winning this event last year, and he’ll likely need to get there again Sunday to have a chance at going back-to-back in Sin City given Patrick Cantlay and Tom Kim will both start the final round at 19 under. But Im kept those hopes alive Saturday with an 8-under 63 that featured four birdies on each side and brought him into a tie for fifth at 15 under, four shots back. Im now has four rounds of 63 or better across his last 10 trips around TPC Summerlin, and he’ll look for another tomorrow in order to become the first to successfully defend a title in this event since Jim Furyk went back-to-back in 1998 and 1999.

The young Korean opened with an 8-under 63 last year to find himself in a share of second place. He went on to post rounds of 65-70-62 which was good for a win at week’s end. He’s in a very similar position one year later, finding himself in a share of fourth place after today’s opening 65. A hot putter got the job done today as Im landed just 13 GIR but he gained 2.3 strokes putting to keep pace at the top of the board. The 24-year-old has now been T19 or better after eight straight rounds at TPC Summerlin.