Im Sung-jae records 2nd top-10 finish of season in final event before major

Im Sung-jae of South Korea tees off on the ninth hole during the final round of the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 10. AFP-Yonhap

Im Sung-jae has posted his second top-10 finish of the season in his final tournament before an upcoming major tournament.

Im tied for fifth at the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday (local time), with a four-round total of 11-under 273.

Im, who held a 36-hole lead after going 64-69 on the par-71 course, finished with consecutive rounds of 70s on the weekend to finish four strokes behind the champion, Kristoffer Reitan of Norway.

Im made the turn at 12-under after making three birdies and a bogey. He made another birdie on the par-5 10th to get to 13-under, but a double bogey on the par-4 14th, where he drove his tee shot into water on the left, took the wind out of his sails.

Im rebounded with a birdie on the next hole but bogeyed the par-3 17th to settle for a three-way tie for fifth with Tommy Fleetwood of England and J.J. Spaun of the United States.

This was Im's second top-10 finish of 2026 in his eighth start. He only started his season on March after recovering from a wrist injury and missed the cut at his first two tournaments before tying for fourth at the Valspar Championship on March 22.

Im failed to crack the top 40 at each of his next four tournaments, including the season's first major, the Masters, on April 12.

Next up for Im will be the second major of the season, the PGA Championship, at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, starting Thursday.

He will be one of three South Koreans in the field, alongside Kim Si-woo and the 2009 champion Yang Yong-eun.

Im has two career PGA Tour wins but none since October 2021. Kim is enjoying a strong campaign with a career-high six top-10s through 13 tournaments. Kim, who came into the Truist Championship as the top South Korean at No. 20 in the world rankings, tied for 65th at Quail Hollow.

Yang, 54, plies his trade on the PGA Tour Champions, a senior circuit for players over the age of 50. He made headlines at the 2009 PGA Championship by becoming the first Asian major champion on the PGA Tour and also the first player ever to come from behind to beat Tiger Woods for a major title.