Im Sungjae and Kim Siwoo "Tokyo Olympics Departure"... Medal Prospects?

'Korean Duo' Full-Scale Battle, Morikawa and Thomas 'Gold Medal Contenders', Matsuyama Advances for Home Course Victory

World No. 27 Im Sung-jae has embarked on a quest for medals in the men's golf event at the Tokyo Olympics.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist] "Korean duo on the attack."

World No. 27 Im Sung-jae (23) and No. 55 Kim Si-woo (26, both from CJ Logistics) are competing in the men's golf "medal hunt" at the Tokyo Olympics, which opens on the 29th at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama Prefecture, Japan (par 71, 7,447 yards). Both players have skipped the final major of the 2021 season, The Open Championship, earlier this month to focus all their efforts here. It is interesting that the medal directly translates into an enormous prize: military service exemption. The team is managed by "Tank" K.J. Choi (51, SK Telecom).

Im Sung-jae was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2019 and secured his first victory at the Honda Classic last March in just his 50th start. He drew even more spotlight by finishing second at the "Fall Masters" in November. This season, he has shown consistent performance with four top-10 finishes in 30 tournaments. He said, "I like the course because it is similar to those in Korea," and fired up his determination, "I will definitely win a medal."

It is worth noting that many world stars, including world No. 1 Jon Rahm (Spain) and No. 2 Dustin Johnson (USA), are absent. Rahm recently tested positive for COVID-19 along with "Hulk" Bryson DeChambeau (USA), which halted his participation, and Johnson is focusing on the PGA Tour. Top-ranked players like Brooks Koepka, Patrick Cantlay (both USA), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), and Harris English (USA) are enjoying vacations instead of the Olympics.

Experts have named No. 3 Colin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Xander Schauffele (all USA) as gold medal contenders. Morikawa especially demonstrated "perfect play" during his Open Championship victory. He won his first major at the PGA Championship last August and added his first World Golf Championships (WGC) title at the Workday Championship this past February, showing particular strength in high-profile matches. Rory McIlroy (Ireland), the Wells Fargo Champion, is another contender.

Siwoo Kim will participate in the men's golf event at the Tokyo Olympics in Japan alongside Sungjae Im.

The organizers grouped Im Sung-jae, Morikawa, and McIlroy together as the "exciting group." The first round starts at 10:25 a.m. on the 29th. Locally, attention is focused on Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) and his pursuit of a home course victory. He reached a career high by becoming the first Asian player to win the Masters in April. He recalls his victory at the 2010 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship held at Kasumigaseki. Kim Si-woo is accompanying him for Korea.