‘Newlywed’ Im Sung-jae "Tied 4th"... Homa’s Comeback Victory

Sungjae Im 2-Under Par in Farmers Insurance Open FR
Bradley 2nd, Morikawa 3rd, Rah Tied 7th

‘Newlywed’ Im Sung-jae finishes in the ‘Top 5’.

Im Sung-jae finished tied for 4th place (9-under 279) by adding 2-under on the final day of the PGA Tour 2022/2023 season Farmers Insurance Open (total prize money $8.7 million) held on the Torrey Pines South Course (par 72, 7,765 yards) in San Diego, California, USA on the 28th (local time). This is his second ‘Top 10’ finish of the season since finishing 7th at the Shriners Children’s Open last October.

Im Sung-jae is teeing off on the 6th hole on the final day of the Farmers Insurance Open. San Diego=AFP·Yonhap News

Starting tied for 4th place, 5 strokes behind the leader, Im Sung-jae recorded 4 birdies and 2 bogeys. Although he started shakily with a bogey on the 5th hole (par 4), he changed the momentum with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 7th and 9th holes. In the back nine, he immediately recovered from a bogey on the 10th hole (par 4) with a birdie on the 11th hole (par 3), then added another birdie on the 14th hole (par 4). His long drives of up to 336 yards and putting stood out, with a stroke gained putting of 2.159 strokes.

World No. 16 Max Homa (USA) swept up 7 birdies (1 bogey) to claim a come-from-behind victory (13-under 275). After a fierce battle for the lead, he sealed the win with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 16th and 18th holes. This is his second win of the season and sixth career victory, four months after winning the season opener Fortinet Championship last September. The winner’s prize money was $1,566,000 (approximately 1.9 billion KRW).

Keegan Bradley finished 2nd (11-under 277), and Collin Morikawa (both USA) performed well in 3rd place (10-under 278). Sam Ryder (USA), who was the leader the previous day, struggled with a 3-over round and finished tied for 4th. World No. 3 Jon Rahm (Spain), who was aiming for a third consecutive win, lost 2 strokes and dropped to tied 7th (8-under 280). Xander Schauffele finished tied 13th (4-under 284), and defending champion Luke List (USA) finished tied 25th (1-under 287).

Among Koreans, rookie Kim Seong-hyun made 2 birdies, 4 bogeys, and 1 double bogey, dropping from tied 8th the previous day to tied 20th (2-under 286). Sony Open winner Kim Si-woo finished tied 25th, No Seung-yeol tied 44th (2-over 290), and An Byeong-hun ended the tournament tied 62nd (6-over 294).