 |
| Im Sung-jae of Korea watches his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill., U.S., Aug. 20. AFP-Yonhap |
A record three Korean players will compete in the final PGA Tour playoff event in Atlanta this week.
Im Sung-jae will make his fifth consecutive appearance at the Tour Championship starting Thursday to close out the annual FedEx Cup playoffs, and he will be joined by countrymen Tom Kim and Kim Si-woo.
The trio will represent the largest Korean contingent at a single Tour Championship since the current playoff setup was introduced in 2007.
The Tour Championship is open only to those inside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings following the conclusion of the BMW Championship in Olympia Fields, Illinois, on Sunday (local time).
Im was the top Korean at the BMW Championship, where he shot a 10-under 270 to finish alone in seventh place. After carding a 66 in the final round with five birdies and one bogey, Im jumped 11 spots in the FedEx Cup rankings from No. 28 to No. 17.
By qualifying for his fifth Tour Championship, Im has broken a tie with Choi Kyoung-ju for the most Tour Championship appearances by a Korean player.
"I hit my driver really well all week. You can't afford to miss fairways on this course, and I was able to play well all four days," said Im, who ranked seventh in driving accuracy in the field after hitting 66 percent of the fairways (37 out of 56). "My putter let me down a bit. I could have had more birdies, but I missed a lot of relatively short putts."
At last year's Tour Championship, Im finished one stroke behind the champion, Rory McIlroy, in second place, the best showing by an Asian player in that tournament.
"I have some good memories of that tournament, especially after finishing in second place last year," Im said, with the tournament returning to East Lake Golf Club for the 20th consecutive season. "I am really looking forward to this upcoming week."
 |
| Tom Kim of Korea tees off on the fourth hole during the second round of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois, U.S., Aug. 18. AFP-Yonhap |
Tom Kim, whose Korean first name is Joo-hyung, tied for 10th at seven-under 273, after a blistering bogey-free round of 63 on Sunday. At No. 16, Kim is the highest-ranked Korean in the FedEx Cup standings and will make his Tour Championship debut.
Kim Si-woo will be playing at the Tour Championship for the second time in his career after finishing in a three-way tie for 31st at the BMW Championship at an even-par 280. He dropped from No. 17 to No. 20 in the FedEx Cup standings, still safely inside the top 30.
The fourth Korean in the field at the BMW Championship, An Byeong-hun, will miss the final playoff event after ending in 43rd place at five-over 285. He arrived in Olympia Fields ranked 38th in the FedEx Cup points but slipped six notches to stay outside the top-30 picture.
Under the "starting strokes" system, the higher the players' positions are in the FedEx Cup standings, the bigger the advantage will be for them at the start of the Tour Championship.
The FedEx Cup points leader will begin the season-ending tournament at 10-under, and the No. 2 player will start at eight-under, and so forth. Players between sixth and 10th will be at four-under at the start.
 |
| Kim Si-woo of Korea watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the second round of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois, U.S., Aug. 18. AFP-Yonhap |
Im, Tom Kim and Kim Si-woo are all between 16th and 20th in the FedEx Cup standings, and they will start the Tour Championship at two-under. (Yonhap)
![[PHOTOS] It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/santa_0001_9a339f16fb3ac.JPG/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] INFINITE's Nam Woo-hyun returns after battling with rare cancer](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/a3c3440b8dc84bce8ca94394a170fef2.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[PHOTOS] It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas](http://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/santa_0001_9a339f16fb3ac.JPG/dims/resize/268/optimize)
