Im Sungjae Returns After Withdrawing Due to Cold... "Condition OK"

3-Under Par Start on Day One of Wells Fargo Championship
No Aftereffects from Last Week's The CJ Cup Withdrawal Due to Cold
Shoply Leads, McIlroy 2nd, An Byeonghun 16th

Im Sung-jae has recovered his health.

Im Sung-jae is teeing off at the 16th hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship. [Charlotte (USA) = AFP·Yonhap News]

On the 9th (local time), at the Quail Hollow Club (par 71, 7,558 yards) in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, the first day of the PGA Tour Wells Fargo Championship (total prize money $20 million) kicked off. Im shot 3-under par with 5 birdies and 2 bogeys. He tied for 5th place with Justin Thomas, Russell Henley, Taylor Moore (all from the USA), and Jason Day (Australia). He is 4 strokes behind the leader, Xander Schauffele (USA), who is at 7-under par.

Im Sung-jae withdrew from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on the 2nd due to cold and flu symptoms. In an interview immediately after finishing the first round that day, he said, "Since it is a tournament sponsored by the main sponsor CJ, I really wanted to participate, so it was very disappointing," adding, "But I rested and recovered well. I still have a slight cough, but I will maintain my condition well and do my best until the end."

Im Sung-jae struggled after tying for 5th place at The Sentry, his first tournament of the season. However, he rebounded by finishing tied for 12th at last month's RBC Heritage and gained momentum by achieving back-to-back wins at the KPGA Tour Woori Financial Championship.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), who has won this tournament three times, is tied for 2nd place (4-under par 67). Colin Morikawa (USA) and Alex Noren (Sweden) are also in this group. An Byeong-hun, who has been on the rise recently, is tied for 16th (1-under par 70) along with Kim Si-woo. Kim Joo-hyung recorded 1 eagle, 4 birdies, 6 bogeys, and 1 double bogey, placing him tied for 49th (2-over par 73). This tournament, one of the eight major events of the season, features a competition for the championship without a cut. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) withdrew due to back pain, reducing the number of participants to 67.