Sungjae Im Starts Tied 12th in Special Event

Tiger Woods Hosts Hero World Challenge Day 1: Young Leads at 3 Under Par, Scheffler 3rd, Kim Juhyung Starts 18th

Im Sung-jae tied for 12th place on the first day of the Hero World Challenge (total prize money $5 million), hosted by the "Golf Emperor" Tiger Woods (USA).

Im Sung-jae is teeing off at the 4th hole of the 1st round of the Hero World Challenge. Bahamas=AP·Yonhap News

On the 5th (local time) at the Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas (par 72, 7,449 yards), he shot 3-under-par 69 in the first round, recording 1 eagle, 3 birdies, and 2 bogeys. The Hero World Challenge, organized by the Tiger Woods Foundation, is not an official PGA Tour event but offers world ranking points.

Twenty world-class players compete over four days in a 72-hole tournament to determine the rankings. The 20 players consist of the winners of the four major championships and the "fifth major" The Players Championship of that year, the top 11 in the world rankings, the previous year's champion, and invited players. The winner's prize is $1 million (approximately 1.4 billion KRW). Even the last place, 20th, receives $150,000, which is over 200 million KRW.

Cameron Young (USA) topped the leaderboard with 8-under-par 64. Justin Thomas was second with 6-under-par 66, while defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Akshay Bhatia, Sahith Theegala (all USA), and Ludvig Aberg (Sweden) tied for third place at 5-under-par 67 to finish the first round. Korea's Kim Joo-hyung finished tied for 18th at 2-over-par 74. The tournament host, Woods, did not participate due to poor physical condition.