‘Newlywed’ Im Sung-jae: "I am confident in match play"

WGC Dell Technologies Match Play Debut
Competing in Group with Fleetwood, Poston, and McNealy

It is the confidence of the "newlywed" Im Sung-jae.

On the 22nd (Korean time), Im Sung-jae said in an official interview at the World Golf Championships (WGC) Series Dell Technologies Match Play (total prize money $20 million) held at Austin Country Club (Par 71, 7,108 yards) in Austin, Texas, USA, "I personally like match play," adding, "I gained confidence through experience at the Presidents Cup." He continued, "You have to understand your opponent well," and added, "You also need to make quick judgments."

Sungjae Im challenges for the title at the WGC Series Dell Technologies Match Play.

This tournament features 64 players divided into 16 groups, playing a preliminary round like the World Cup soccer, and then the top player from each group advances to the round of 16 to compete again in one-on-one matches. World rankings No. 1 to 3, including Scottie Scheffler (USA), Jon Rahm (Spain), and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), all participated. Im Sung-jae was placed in Group 16, playing alongside Tommy Fleetwood (England), J.T. Poston, and Maverick McNealy (both USA).

Im Sung-jae said, "I have to play the preliminaries against good players, so I need to set a good strategy," and expressed his determination, "You have to win every match to advance to the round of 16, so when the opponent makes a mistake, I must try not to make the same mistake." Regarding the tournament venue, Austin Country Club, he said, "The course is not that long, but there are still tricky holes," adding, "Especially when the wind blows, the direction tends to change constantly, making club selection difficult, but if I handle that well, I think I can create many birdie opportunities and play well."

Earlier this month, Im Sung-jae performed well, finishing tied for 6th at The Players Championship, known as the "fifth major." He said, "I overcame the risk of missing the cut in the first round and achieved a top 10 finish, so I took a good rest last week and recharged my energy," expressing his expectations, "I hope that the improvements I made through practice last week will help me this week."