Im Sung-jae birdies at five consecutive holes to tie for third

Im Sung-jae, South Korea’s male golf sensation, tied for third on Day 1 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first event of this year’s PGA Tour. Im had seven birdies and one bogey to post 6-under 67 in the first round of the tournament, which took place at the Kapalua Plantation Golf Course in Hawaii, the U.S. He was only two strokes behind frontrunners Justin Thomas and Harris English.

The tournament is an event for champions of the champions, which involves 42 golfers including the winners of last year’s tour, and participants at the Tour Championship, the final event of the previous season. Im participated in the event for winning the Honda Classic Tournament in March last year.

Im finished first nine holes with 1 under par and birdied at five consecutive holes from Hole 10 to join the frontrunners’ group. On Hole 14, he played a precision second shot by sending the ball to just 10 centimeters off the cup. It was regrettable that his birdie putts narrowly missed the cup at Holes 15 and 18. The 22-year-old had a green accuracy rate of 83.33 percent, and a fairway set rate of over 80 percent on the day.

“I was able play nice shots overall as well as driver shots. With birdies at five consecutive holes in the second half, I feel like I had off to a great start for the New Year,” Im said after finishing the round.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com