Boston, United States: Korea’s Im Sung-jae heads into this week’s The Northern Trust with a spring in his step as he chases his dream of becoming Asia’s first winner of the PGA Tour’s ultimate prize, the FedEx Cup.
The 22-year-old has continued to blossom as one of the most exciting stars in the game and enters the first week of the Play-offs at TPC Boston ranked fifth, and in prime position to challenge for a slice of golf history in what has been an abbreviated PGA Tour 2019-20 season.
Asia has been waiting to celebrate its first FedEx Cup champion since the season-long race top prize was inaugurated in 2007 and Im will have for company six other representatives from the region – Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, Koreans An Byeong-hun, Sung Kang, KH Lee and Kim Si-woo and Xinjun Zhang, the first mainland Chinese golfer to qualify for Play-offs.
Im, who won The Honda Classic in March and has six other top-10s, finished tied for ninth at last week’s Wyndham Championship which was a welcome and timely return to form. He had uncharacteristically missed three cuts in his previous seven starts when golf made a return in June following a three-month suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I haven’t finished very well since the end of the Charles Schwab Challenge (in June), so it feels great to have my swing back,” said the Korean, who earned the nickname ‘Ironman Im’ after he played in 35 events last season en route to becoming Rookie of the Year.
“I would, of course, like to win the FedEx Cup, but there are so many strong competitors. If I were to win, I don’t think I could even put into words what it would mean to me. It would definitely be a turning point in my career. As everyone knows, you can’t be too greedy in this game. I just want to take it one tournament at a time and give it my best to let the results speak for my game.”
Matsuyama has been one of Asia’s star performers over the past few seasons and has not finished lower than 16th position on the final FedEx Cup standings since 2015. He enters The Northern Trust ranked 18th, with four top-25 finishes since the ‘Return to Golf’ in June, and anticipates hitting top form in the next three weeks.
A five-time winner on Tour but not since 2017, Matsuyama remains modest and insists he is still learning. “I have so much more to learn and a lot of work ahead to achieve the goals I have set for myself, which include playing in the Tour Championship every year, winning on the PGA Tour and, of course, winning a Major tournament,” said the 28-year-old Japanese, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.
Like Im, An also featured in his first Presidents Cup last December and has continued to flourish. Hooking up recently with putting guru Brad Faxon seems to have given the powerful 28-year-old new zest on the short grass.
“This has been a good year with a few top-10s. I want to keep it going and play in the FedEx Cup and get into (my first) Tour Championship. That’s why I played in a few events at the start of the season. The benefits that come with getting into the Tour Championship are great, so that’s the goal. As to winning, it is the ultimate.”
He has accumulated five top-10s, all achieved prior to golf’s suspension in March, but a tied 12th outing in this month’s World Golf Championships-FedEx St Jude Invitational could be the spark needed for An to launch a legitimate challenge in the Play-offs and emulate Im by securing a breakthrough victory on Tour.
“I’ve played long enough and I want to win. Sung-jae is a countryman and everyone knew he’s a great player and he was going to win. I want to see more Koreans winning on Tour … and I hope it would be me next,” said An, who has three career runner-up finishes.
One of the feel-good stories in the Play-offs belongs to 33-year-old Zhang, who grew up in a village in China and worked as a security guard at a golf club before becoming the first mainland Chinese golfer to qualify for the FedEx Cup Play-offs, limited to the top-125 players from the points list. He has enjoyed three top-10s including a recent share of 10th place at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide.
“I am so excited to compete with the best golfers and accumulate experiences,” said Zhang, who enters the week in 70th place, which is the cut-off for players to progress into next week’s BMW Championship, the second of three legs in the Play-offs.
“Trying to win (a tournament) is the objective of every player, and it’s the same for me. A small step leads to a thousand miles and what I can do is to focus on every tournament and every swing. I am closer and closer to becoming a PGA Tour champion.”
The Play-offs finale is the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club outside Atlanta, Georgia and limited to the top-30 golfers. The champion will lift the FedEx Cup and pocket a winner’s cheque of US$15 million.
American Justin Thomas starts the Play-offs ranked number one, followed by Collin Morikawa and Webb Simpson in third position. Reigning FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy is in eighth position while Tiger Woods, a two-time winner, is also in TPC Boston this week where he starts in 49th position.
