Sungjae Im Struggles With 4-Over Par... Third Consecutive Victory in Jeopardy

Tied for 105th After Round 1 of Woori Financial Championship
Three Birdies, Five Bogeys, One Double Bogey
Kang Taeyoung Leads, Kim Bio in 5th, Lee Seungmin in 13th

Sungjae Im, a member of the PGA Tour, is at risk of missing the cut.

On April 24, at the Seowon Valley Golf Club (par 71, 7,031 yards) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, he struggled in the first round of the KPGA Tour Woori Financial Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won), shooting a 4-over-par 75. He is tied for 105th place. Im had been aiming for his third consecutive victory at this tournament from 2023 through this year, but his poor performance on the first day has made achieving that goal difficult.

Sungjae Im is taking his second shot with a driver on the fairway of the 3rd hole in the first round of the Woori Financial Championship. KPGA

Im’s accuracy with both his tee shots and iron shots dropped significantly, and he rarely created birdie opportunities. He finished the day with three birdies, five bogeys, and one double bogey. In a post-round interview, he said, "On the back nine, I only managed to find the fairway with my tee shot a couple of times. As the round went on, I realized just how important the tee shot is," adding, "I also made a lot of mistakes on the green. I couldn't read the lines well on the green."

Despite being in danger of missing the cut, Im remained composed. He said, "My goal tomorrow is to reduce my score as much as possible," and added, "Since I tee off in the morning tomorrow, there should be less wind and my physical condition should be better." He continued, "If I can just put my tee shots in the fairway, I can create birdie chances. Someone shot a 6-under-par today, so I believe I can shoot 6 or 7 under as well."

Kang Taeyoung surged to a surprise lead with a 6-under-par 65. Kim Hyunwook, Lee Kyumin, and Korean-Canadian Shin Yonggoo are tied for second place at 4-under-par 67. Kim Bio, Lee Sumin, Moon Doyeob, and Jung Taeyang are tied for fifth at 3-under-par 68 and are looking for a chance to move up. Lee Seungmin, an autistic golfer who entered as an invited player, performed well and is tied for 13th at 1-under-par 70.