Im Sungjae 2-Under Par on Final Day of The Open 'Top 10'
Schauffele Shoots 6-Under Par to Win by 3 Strokes
Rose and Horschel Tied for 2nd, Scheffler Tied for 7th
World No. 24 Im Sung-jae finished in the ‘Top 10’.
Im Sung-jae is teeing off at the 6th hole on the final day of The Open. [Tron (Scotland) = AP·Yonhap News]
On the 21st (local time), at the Royal Troon Golf Club (par 71, 7,385 yards) in South Ayrshire, Scotland, UK, the 4th round of the 152nd Open Championship, the ‘oldest major’ (total prize money $17 million), Im added a 2-under-par 69 to finish tied for 7th place (1-under-par 283). This is his best Open finish, surpassing last year’s tie for 20th. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) and ‘LIV Golf star’ Jon Rahm (Spain) also joined the group tied for 7th.
Starting tied for 13th, 5 strokes behind, Im recorded 1 eagle, 4 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 1 double bogey. He lost 1 stroke over 12 holes and struggled to move up the leaderboard. However, consecutive birdies on holes 13 and 14 changed the momentum, and he reduced another stroke on the 16th hole (par 5) to achieve a ‘Top 10’ finish. He posted the best score among the eight Korean players participating in this tournament.
World No. 3 Xander Schauffele (USA) played a perfect round with 6 birdies and no bogeys to claim the title at 9-under-par 275. This is his second win of the season and ninth career victory, two months after the major PGA Championship in May. The winner’s prize money is $3.1 million (approximately 4.3 billion KRW). Justin Rose (England) shot a 4-under-par 67 to finish tied for 2nd place (7-under-par 277). Billy Horschel (USA) also joined this group. Russell Henley (USA) finished 5th (5-under-par 279), and Shane Lowry (Ireland) took 6th place (4-under-par 280).
Korea’s An Byeong-hun, a Paris Olympic member, exchanged 3 birdies and 3 bogeys and could not reduce his score. He finished tied for 13th (1-over-par 285). Kim Min-kyu finished tied for 31st (6-over-par 290). Kim Si-woo lost 3 strokes and remained tied for 43rd (8-over-par 292). Wang Jeong-hoon finished tied for 60th (11-over-par 295), and Song Young-han tied for 72nd (14-over-par 298).
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