Sungjae Im Gets First Career PGA Tour Victory 

Sungjae Im (-6) became the youngest ever winner of the Honda Classic with a final round 66 and claimed his first-ever PGA Tour victory.  The win vaulted the 21-year-old South Korean into 2nd place in the FedEx Cup standings.  After being the Korn Ferry Tour player of the year and PGA Tour rookie of the year, Im has become known for consistent play and his deliberate, rhythmic tempo.  While other young players are getting the majority of the headlines right now, Im once again showed why he is just as worthy of praise.

Finishing one back of Im in solo second was Mackenzie Hughes.  Hughes made the cut on the number at +3 then shot two rounds of 66 to vault himself up the leaderboard and earn his best finish of the year.  The Canadian’s season had been full of disappointing finishes to this point and he will take confidence from his performance.

Tommy Fleetwood, on the other hand, will likely be disappointed to finish in solo third after being poised to win for much of the day.  He made a clutch birdie on 17 to go to -5 then rinsed his approach on 18, essentially handing Im the tournament.  For Fleetwood it was a story of close but no cigar again.  He is still without a win on the PGA Tour despite recording his fourth top 3 finish in his last six starts.

Aside from Sungjae Im’s first career win, the week was also notable for the top players who struggled.  The course resisted giving up low scores and top players like Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose failed to make the cut.  They were far from the only stars who failed to cope with the demands of the course with last week’s winner Viktor Hovland and WGC-Mexico contender Erik Van Rooyen just two more examples of top players failing to make the cut.

Next week, the PGA Tour heads to Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  Francesco Molinari will defend his championship against a field that includes the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, and Rory McIlroy.

Sungjae Im What’s In the Bag

Driver: Titleist TS3 10.5° (Graphite Design Tour AD DI-7x)

3 wood: Titleist TS3 15° (Graphite Design Tour AD DI-8x)

Hybrid: Titleist 818 H1 19° (Graphite Design Tour AD DI-105X)

Irons: Titleist T100 4-9 (Dynamic Gold X100)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 46°, 52°, 56°, 60° (Dynamic Gold X100)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X 6