'I Still Have a Chance to Win', Insists Resilient Im

Augusta, Georgia, United States: Im Sung-jae is not giving up on his hopes of becoming the second successive Asian winner at the Masters Tournament and the first Korean to be fitted with a Green Jacket.

“I still have a chance,” said Im, following a gutsy one-under 71 in the third round at Augusta National to claim solo third place, five shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler of the United States.

Im was one of only nine golfers who broke par Saturday, but it could have gone horribly wrong for the 24-year-old after he double-bogeyed the first hole and three-putted the fifth and sixth holes to be four-over.

From there he knuckled down brilliantly to snare five birdies in his last 11 holes, making putts from 16 feet on the 12th, 33 feet from off the green on 15 and a 15-footer on 17.

It was, however, a 26-foot par save on the seventh which proved pivotal for Im. “I made a long par putt on the seventh and got some good momentum. It helped me finish with a decent score.

“At the first (hole), I thought I had hit a good second shot but it sailed over the green with the wind, and I made double. The front nine was long. At that point, I was just thinking if I could get back to even par, I would still be in the top-10 for the final round,” said Im, who enjoyed a runner-up finish in his Masters debut in November 2020.

His courageous round has kept him in the frame to become only the third Asian male golfer after countryman YE Yang (2009 PGA Championship) and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (2021 Masters) to lift a Major trophy.

Im, ranked eighth in the FedEx Cup standings, knows he must produce the round of his life on Sunday if he is to put on the Green Jacket. He will play alongside former Open Championship winner Shane Lowry of Ireland in the penultimate pairing.

"I want to keep to my own play and focus on every single shot. That will be my strategy. If I need to be aggressive, I will go for it and if I need to go safe, I will go safe. I will choose my strategy depending on the situation. If it works out, I could have a good result.

“Winning the Masters would be great, but the pressure and an aggressive mindset could ruin my game. I will try to stay calm and focus. I’ll try to not look at other scores and keep to my own game until the 18th hole,” said Im.