'Ironman' Im Bids to Follow Matsuyama's Lead

Bradenton, Florida, United States: Korean Im Sung-jae is aiming to become only the second Asian to win a World Golf Championships tournament when he lines up alongside the stars of the game at this week’s WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession.

Fresh from a two-week break, the 22-year-old is carrying the region’s challenge in the elite 73-man field, featuring 48 of the top 50 golfers from the Official World Golf Ranking gathered at The Concession Golf Club.

Defending champion Patrick Reed, reigning FedEx Cup winner and world number one Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka are among the big guns bidding for glory in the US$10.5 million showpiece, the first WGC event of the 2020-21 PGA Tour season following the cancellation of the WGC-HSBC Champions last October.

Since the launch of the World Golf Championships in 1999, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama is the lone Asian golfer to have won, following triumphs at the 2016 WGC-HSBC Champions and 2017 WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational.

Im, the highest ranked Asian player in the world at 17th place, hopes to join his Presidents Cup International teammate on the roll of honour.

“The WGC are big events. It would be nice to become the second Asian winner at a WGC following Hideki. I need a big effort to do so,” said Im.

To date, he has featured in three WGC events, with a tie for 11th place at the WGC-HSBC Champions in 2019 being his best result. After starting 2021 with five straight tournaments which yielded one top five finish and two other top-20s, the Korean, who is nicknamed ‘Ironman’ due to his hectic playing schedule, believes his form is peaking nicely.

With no half-way cut this week, Im plans to attack from the get-go. “You probably need to be a little more aggressive,” said Im, who claimed his maiden PGA Tour win at The Honda Classic last March. “I think I will change strategies. At the WGC, I feel really comfortable because there is no half-way cut. I think this can help me play better.”

He is also excited to go head-to-head with leading players from other international Tours this week. On Tuesday, Im played a practice round with upcoming Korean-Australian Lee Min-woo.

“This is a huge event. The top players from world’s six main Tours are here, along with the top-ranked players from the world ranking. I think it’s fun and great to have a chance to compete against other world-class players,” he said.

This week’s WGC-Workday Championship marks the start of another busy stretch of golf for Im. He will head to the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard next week where he has two top-three finishes over the past two years before teeing up in The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. He will then defend his Honda title before heading to the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, which is limited to the top 64 golfers in the world.

Other Asians joining Im in this week’s field include Matsuyama, a two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner and five-time PGA Tour champion, and Yuki Inamori, a two-time Japan Open champion.

The WGC-Workday Championship is a newly named event replacing the WGC-Mexico Championship, which could not be held in Mexico due to logistical challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.