CHEONAN — "After winning The Open, he clearly looks like a player who has moved up a level."
Im Sung-jae, 26, playing in his home country for the first time in about six months since the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Tour's Woori Financial Championship in April, offered that assessment after a round alongside Ryan Fox of New Zealand, this year's Open Championship winner.
Im finished the first round of the Genesis Championship, a $4 million tournament co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the KPGA Tour, at even-par 72 on the 22nd at Woojeong Hills Country Club (par 71) in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. Entering the official news conference immediately after his round, he showed both disappointment and determination to turn things around over the remaining three days.
Im played in a group with Fox and Eugenio Chacarra of Spain, the leader in the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai rankings. "Fox struggled early on, but his ability to recover and close with a birdie on the back nine was impressive," Im said.
He added: "Chacarra, who played with us, has excellent ball control and course management. If he moves to the PGA Tour in the future, I think he will adapt quickly."
Reviewing his own first round, Im said: "On the front nine, my shot feel and putting were not bad, so things went well. But on the back nine, my distance control was slightly off and I had trouble saving par, so I'm left with some regret."
Im then emphasized the difficulty of the course and outlined his strategy for the remaining three days. "The course is really tough with a lot of tricky spots, so avoiding those and playing without mistakes is the most important thing," he said. "There are many holes with severe green slopes. To put the ball in positions that favor birdies or par saves, I need to pay more attention to keeping my driver tee shots in the fairway."
He added: "My par-saving ability dropped off a bit on the back nine today, but starting tomorrow I will focus more on recovering after missed shots and minimizing bogeys."
Im also looked back on this season and shared his plans for next year. He has had a roller-coaster season. A wrist injury sustained during winter training early this year left him in a deep slump at the start of the season, but he began to recover from August. He posted three consecutive top-10 finishes — a tie for fifth at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and a tie for 10th at the BMW Championship, the first two FedEx Cup playoff events in August, and a tie for ninth at the Baycurrent Classic in October — before finishing runner-up at the Asian Tour's SJM Macao Open last week to complete his comeback.
"Looking back on this season, the early injury made things difficult, but I take some pride in having competed for a spot in the Tour Championship finale for an eighth straight year," Im said. "Next year, I plan to prepare properly so I can play a little better."
Finally, he expressed his resolve: "Over the remaining rounds, I will do my best to cut out big mistakes as much as possible and post good scores."