Korea’s Sungjae Im and reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan will carry the Asian challenge in the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship, which starts this Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
Im secured solo third place at the BMW Championship on Sunday to qualify for his third successive Tour Championship, the FedExCup Playoffs finale. He closed with a 5-under 67 to finish four shots behind the playoff duo of Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland, with Cantlay claiming his third title of the season and fifth career PGA Tour win with a birdie on the sixth extra hole.
The 24-year-old Im, who was chasing his second PGA Tour victory, will head to East Lake in 12th position on the FedExCup standings. Through the staggered-start format, the Korean star will begin the first round at 3-under-par, seven shots behind Cantlay who starts at 10-under by virtue of being the new FedExCup leader in the elite 30-player field.
Matsuyama meanwhile qualified for his eighth straight Tour Championship despite finishing tied 46th in the BMW Championship at Caves Valley. He will start the playoffs finale in 22nd place.
Im’s compatriot K.H. Lee suffered a final-hole mishap in the BMW event which dashed his dream of getting into the season-ender. Lee agonizingly bogeyed the 18th hole from the middle of the fairway en route to a 67 and a share of 12th position. It left him in 31st place on the FedExCup standings, one shy of getting into the Tour Championship.
Another Korean, Si Woo Kim, closed with a 66 for a share of 29th position to end his season in 34th on the FedExCup. He needed a top-15 finish to extend his campaign.
Im was delighted with his fifth top-10 of the season, especially after finding his range with the flat stick. He ranked fourth in Strokes Gained: Putting and gained 6.15 strokes over the field on the greens. “The last couple tournaments, my putting was not right, but this week my putter improved. So this week I feel – compared to other tournaments, I feel comfortable to play,” he said.
For the second straight day, he made crucial birdies on 17 and 18 from 10 and five feet respectively which helped secure solo third ahead of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy. “When I got to 17 and 18, my feeling was so comfortable. I played a little bit aggressive there,” said Im, whose six birdies on the day were all from inside of 12 feet.
