2 S. Koreans go for jackpot at PGA Tour playoff finale

Two South Korean veterans will be in pursuit of a US$25 million jackpot this week in Atlanta at the final playoff event on the PGA Tour.

Im Sung-jae and An Byeong-hun will tee off at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in the capital of Georgia on Thursday, along with 28 others who have made it to the last playoff stop.

They qualified for the lucrative event by finishing inside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup points standings after the BMW Championship last week in Colorado.

Im, at No. 11, will make his sixth consecutive Tour Championship appearance, extending his own record for the longest such streak by a South Korean golfer at the exclusive-field event. An, who ranked 16th in FedEx Cup points, will make his Tour Championship debut.

Im, who owns two PGA Tour wins, has finished inside the top 25 in half of his 24 starts this season, including seven top-10s.

An came close to his first PGA Tour win this year, recording four top-five finishes, including a playoff loss at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

The winner will take home $25 million in bonus money. With no cut, even the last-place golfer will receive $550,000.

However, it will be difficult for those in the middle of the pack to make a run for the title because of a unique scoring format at the Tour Championship.

Since 2019, those higher up in the FedEx Cup standings have been getting a head start. This year’s leader, Scottie Scheffler of the United States, will begin the tournament at 10-under, while fellow American and No. 2 overall, Xander Schauffele, will start at eight-under. No. 3 player, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, will be at seven-under standing on the first tee.

Players ranked 11th to 15th will start at three-under, and Im is in this group. Those ranked 16th to 20th, including An, will begin at two-under.

In 2022, Im finished runner-up at 20-under, one stroke behind the champion Rory McIlroy, after starting the tournament at four-under. It remains the best Tour Championship showing by an Asian golfer.

In an online interview with South Korean media Tuesday night, Im said he will try to take it one stroke at a time.

“You have to post a good score on the first day to set yourself up for a chase the rest of the way,” Im said. “Anyone will have a chance to win here, if you can get closer and closer each and every day.”

Im said he was “proud” of having qualified for the Tour Championship after overcoming a rough stretch in the middle of the season. He credited changes to his swing and putting stroke with helping him get back on track.

“The Tour Championship is a tournament only for the most consistent players each season,” Im added. “The gap with the leader at the start won’t matter so much. I will show people what I am capable of at this tournament.”

An said he was happy to have accomplished his goal of qualifying for the Tour Championship. He attributed that to his consistent performance throughout the year but especially the first two tournaments of the season, when he finished in fourth place and then in second place.

“Such a strong start to the season made my life easier in the second half,” An said in an interview with the PGA Tour. “I had some good finishes along the way, and I didn’t have to get too stressed about qualifying for the Tour Championship during the playoffs.”

An said being eight strokes behind the leader won’t change his strategies on the course.

“This is a really difficult course, and it won’t yield a lot of birdies,” he said. “If you’re too aggressive, then it could cost you. I will try to close the gap bit by bit, and hopefully I will have a good opportunity on Sunday.”

Scheffler will go for his first Tour Championship title and his seventh win of this season. Scheffler began the 2022 tournament at 10-under as the FedEx Cup points leader but tied Im for second place after shooting a three-over 73 in the final round.

Scheffler was also the leader entering last year’s Tour Championship but ended in a tie for sixth after shooting 73-70 on the weekend.