A Korean star in the making, here are eight things you didn't already know about Sungjae Im.
8 Things You Didn’t Know About Sungjae Im
Korea may totally dominate the women’s game but this is less so in men’s golf. However one man who is looking to change that is 21-year-old Sungjae Im, a star who has had a meteoric rise up the world golf rankings and has had several close calls with victory. Here are eight things you didn’t know about him.
8 Things You Didn’t Know About Sungjae Im
1. Im grew up in golf-mad Jeju Island and first started playing golf when he was four-years old because he followed his mum to an indoor practice facility. Just four years later, Im beat his father for the first time.
2. It was clear he had talent for the game. He got his first coach at 7, joined a Korean golf academy at 12 and then turned professional at 17.
3. His parents (Ji Taek Im and Mi Kim) followed him to every tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Im walks over to congratulate Munoz at the 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship (Getty Images)
4. He came close to earning his first PGA Tour victory several times in 2019, with this best chance coming at the Sanderson Farms Championship, an event he lost in a playoff to Sebastian Munoz.
5. As a result he earned the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award in 2019.
6. He also earned a spot on Ernie Els’ Presidents Cup team in which he won 3 matches, halved one, and lost one in a very impressive display.
Im beat Woodland 4&3 in their singles match (Getty Images)
7. Im loves his food and has no desire to change his diet to give himself an extra edge in the modern game. His favourite dish is Jeju Black Pig and whilst travelling around the United States he regularly searches for Korean restaurants.
8. Whilst competing he never uses a ball with the number 4 on it because in South Korea the number represents death.
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