Sungjae Im set a new historical record this Sunday on the PGA Tour. Record for birdies in a 72-hole stroke play tournament. He made a total of 34. He beat the previous record by two and yet it was barely enough to be fifth in the The Sentry. Another example of how tough the Hawaii course is.
The Korean golfer made eleven birdies on Sunday, six on Saturday, eight on Friday and nine on Thursday. He had a good time. If he didn’t win, among other things, it was because he also dropped seven bogeys, a figure too high for a course like Kapalua. In fact, he finished in the 46th position of the tournament by number of bogeys, only three golfers made more than him. In addition, he committed a double bogey. Without going any further, Chris Kirk, the tournament winner, only signed a bogey in the 72 holes.
The previous PGA Tour record was at 32 birdies, shared by Mark Calcavecchia (2001 Phoenix Open), Paul Gow (2001 BC Open) and Jon Rahm (2022 Sentry). Interestingly, Rahm’s 32 birdies also didn’t help him win the tournament, as it was the edition where Cameron Smith broke all records with a winning score of -34. Kirk’s -29 became the fourth lowest champion record in tournament history, only surpassed by Smith’s aforementioned, Els’ -31 in 2003 and Jordan Spieth‘s -30 in 2016.
Be that as it may, it is an exceptional performance by Sungjae in the new season. At the end of the tournament he explained that he has had a very tough preseason in Korea, where he has paid special attention to the physical and that has allowed him to feel very good this week.
