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Nine Things to Know: The Country Club

The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, has been the scene of some of the game’s most historic moments, so it’s fitting that it will offer an old-school test for this week’s U.S. Open. You like tight fairways, thick rough, greens that are smaller than small, and big, bodacious rock outcroppings? Then The Country Club should satisfy you. Said Gil Hanse, who has been consulting with TCC officials for more than 10 years to update this brilliant course: “It’s going to be an interesting mental test.” In other words, the U.S. Open the way it used to be. To prep you for the 122nd U.S. Open and just the fourth at The Country Club, here are Nine Things to Know about this historic course. 1. BUILDING AN ICON If ever a property in the golf world has evolved, it is The Country Club. From that day in 1892 when a group of gentlemen discussed the need for a club where outdoor activities were central, this stately property in Brookline – a mere 6 ½ miles from Beacon Hill in the heart of downtown Boston – the emphasis has been on getting it right. Members built the first three holes in 1893, then brought in Scotsman Willie Campbell as head professional. Campbell designed six more holes and by 1899 he had created an 18-hole course. In the meantime, club officials at The Country Club had joined with peers at Newport Country Club, Shinnecock Golf Club, Chicago Golf Club, and St. Andrew’s Golf Links outside of New York City to form the United States Golf Association, which began running national championships. It wasn’t until 1902 that The Country Club hosted its first national championship, the U.S. Women’s Amateur. But should you forget that the original intent was to create a club with a variety of activities, rest assured that TCC is faithful to that intent. Golfers share this vaunted club with those who enjoy skeet-shooting, skating, hockey, swimming tennis, paddle and squash, and should you mention the words “Canadian Club,” be warned that in these parts, that is not a whisky; it is the beloved group of curlers who use TCC as their home port. 2. PERHAPS YOU’VE HEARD OF 1913 Seeing as how a movie, several books, decades of endless newspaper and magazine articles, and a heralded scholarship have been created around the hero of arguably golf’s greatest story, we’ll assume you know of Francis Ouimet. To recap: The 20-year-old former caddie at TCC walked across the street from his home at 246 Clyde Street to play in the 1913 U.S. Open as an amateur. Ouimet opened with 77 and trailed by six. After shooting a second-round 74, he was four off the lead. Another 74 in the third round tied him for lead. All three 54-hole leaders — Ouimet, Harry Vardon, and Ted Ray — closed with 79 to force an 18-hole playoff. Ouimet, of course, won the Saturday playoff with a 72. Vardon shot 77, Ray 78. It remains an overlooked nugget to this story, but for a good part of 1913, the U.S. Open was destined to go to the National Golf Links of America out on Long Island. Accommodating the schedules of Vardon and Ray, two of the biggest stars of the day, was an issue. TCC passed on an August date. When the English golfers said September was fine, TCC jumped back in and got its first U.S. Open. Now we’re not saying Francis Ouimet couldn’t have won at NGLA, but he certainly wouldn’t have walked across the street, now would he? And isn’t that the most charming flavor to the story? The aftermath: A common man, Ouimet showed that the game was for the masses and the number of golf courses in the U.S. doubled over the next generation. Ouimet enjoyed a lifetime as an amateur icon on par with Bobby Jones and his friendship with his 10-year-old caddie, Eddie Lowery, lasted until his death in 1967. Lowery was a pallbearer for his great friend. 3. YEAH, BUT WHO WON WHEN IT MATTERED? “Harry Vardon and Edward Ray, those two wonder-workers of the links, demonstrated yesterday at The Country Club, Brookline, that they are the superiors of Francis Ouimet . . . ” Ouch. All these years later, it still hurts to reach such words, but here’s the good news: They were written about a tournament played in 1920, seven years after the golf match that really counted. Oh, and this 4-and-3 triumph was a 36-hole contest that involved the 1913 lads – Ouimet, Vardon, and Ray – but it was a team match. Vardon and Ray combined to spank Ouimet and Jesse Guilford before 3,000 TCC members and their guests. Bottom line, it was never going to be easy for Francis Ouimet to follow-up his 1913 drama in any subsequent trip to TCC and for the most part his competitions there paled in comparison. He did play well in the 1915 State Open, but at 308 he was tied for fourth, 10 behind the winner, Walter Hagen. Ouimet was not in the field in 1920 for the State Amateur (won by Fred Wright), but two years later there were shock waves throughout The Country Club in Round 2 of the U.S. Amateur. “Rudy sadly blasted the hopes of Boston followers of golf,” read the Boston Globe, chronicling a 4-and-2 win for Rudolph Knepper of Sioux City, Iowa, over the beloved Ouimet. Small consolation arrived in 1925 when Ouimet won for the sixth and final time in the State Amateur, the only other championship of note that he won at TCC. Ouimet was there – for a short while, at least – when in the fall of ’34 the U.S. Amateur made its third visit to Clyde Street. Just three years removed from his second U.S. Amateur win and still just 41 (prime time back then), Ouimet was knocked out in the first round by Bobby Jones. That wouldn’t seem bad, except it was Bobby Jones of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and not the “real” Bobby Jones, who was four years into retirement. 4. ARE WE HORSEMEN OR GOLFERS? A serious identity crisis consumed members of The Country Club in the 1880s and raged on for parts of the next three decades. Race or golf? Horsemen were first on the scene as the competitive racing on their track was the source of immense pleasure. Golfers were a little later and in the minority, so there seemed to be an amicable existence. But as golfers increased and the course went from three to nine to 18 holes “the golfers were averse to having horsemen ride over their fairways and the riders claimed the golfers were not always careful to avoid hitting them,” wrote former club historian Elmer Cappers. It wasn’t until 1935 that a clear winner was declared when the last horse race was held. As a concession to club history, or perhaps owed to a membership that doesn’t like change, the track remained in place (it circled the first and 18th holes) until 1969. 5. WHAT’S WITH THE 17TH HOLE Hey, we’re not suggesting that the green at the 17th hole should be kissed a la Ben Crenshaw at the 1999 Ryder Cup, but if you’re going to embrace the history of major golf events here, then it starts with the penultimate hole. As far as design goes, the 17th – aka “Elbow” – is a short dogleg left that will not put any scare into competitors. It’s only 373 yards and short irons will be the club of choice for the majority of players who find the fairway. But history tells us this hole will be prime turf for drama. Francis Ouimet birdied No. 17 in Round 4 to help get into a playoff against Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. His stunning victory in Saturday’s playoff was nailed down with another birdie at 17. Two strokes behind Tony Lema at the 1963 U.S. Open, Julius Boros pulled even at 17 when he birdied and Lema made bogey. Jacky Cupit and Arnold Palmer could have won outright, only they made double-bogey and bogey, respectively, at 17 to join Boros in a three-way tie for first. Boros won the playoff (and, yes, he birdied 17 again). Curtis Strange wasn’t devastated by his ordeal with the 17th (he three-putted for bogey) even though it left him tied with Nick Faldo in the 1988 U.S. Open. That’s because Strange easily won the playoff, 71-75. Which all set up the Ryder Cup drama in ’99. Battling back from a 10-6 deficit through two days of team play, the Americans had a chance to win, but they desperately needed at least a half-point out of Justin Leonard’s match against Jose Maria Olazabal. The Spaniard had the shorter birdie try at 17, but somehow when Leonard slam-dunked his 40-footer into the cup, it sent the crowd, the American players and wives, and Crenshaw into a frenzy. 6. CALL HIM MAJOR HANSE For the second time in a month, a major championship will be held at a course restored by Gil Hanse and his righthand man, Jim Wagner. “It’s a completely different landscape than any place I’ve been,” said Hanse, who started consulting with TCC officials in 2009. “You can’t talk about The Country Club without mentioning the landforms, the ledges, and the puddingstone rock.” The rock outcroppings harken back to a day when architects didn’t have heavy machinery at their disposal, so they instead challenged golfers to play around or over the landforms. Renowned for its small greens and thick, lush rough, The Country Club puts a premium on hitting fairways and greens. In other words, it’s a quintessential U.S. Open stage. What Hanse was commissioned to do was find a few new tees, extend The Country Club another 200 yards (though at 7,264 it’s still relatively short), and oversee a tree-clearing project that required great care. It was needed for agronomic and aesthetic purposes, but Hanse was careful not to take away the blind shots that are a part of TCC’s character. There’s been a lot of talk about the 131-yard, par-3 11th hole that was in play when Ouimet won in 1913 but wasn’t when the U.S. Open was here in 1963 and ’88. Even with a wedge, players will be tested to find the small green, which has plenty of tilt. But it’s the beefy holes that will likely play a key role in this year’s trip to The Country Club. The par-4 third hole is 499 yards and bends left to right, only you never truly see the fairway. When you do stand over your approach to the green, you look at a pond in the back that is famous for being where 1956 Olympic gold medalist Tenley Albright honed her skating skills. Another 499-yard brute, the par-4 10th, is called “Himalayas.” The tee shot must carry an outcropping of rock down the right. Once you clear that, you must deal with another outcropping down the left. It played as a par-5 in the 1999 Ryder Cup. Rarely do you hear that par-5s are “brutes” for these PGA TOUR lads who are accustomed to hitting driver, 6-iron into 550-yard holes. But the 619-yard, par-5 14th at The Country Club likely won’t yield many eagles and, in fact, you might see a good many players miss the green with their third shot. 7. BEFORE OUIMET, THERE WAS HECKER The Country Club’s first national championship was the 1902 U.S. Women’s Amateur. It was fitting for a club that was described at the start of the 20th century as “very active with regard to women’s events.” The writer of those words was Ruth Underhill, winner of the 1899 U.S. Women’s Amateur. The 1902 Women’s Amateur ended in a successful defense for national champion Genevieve Hecker of West Orange, N.J. While the Curtis sisters – Margaret and Hariot – of Manchester, 30 miles north of Boston, drew the biggest crowds, it was Hecker who owned their hearts at the end. She defeated Louisa A. Wells of TCC, 4 and 3. Margaret Curtis was the medalist, however, for a second consecutive year after reaching the championship match in 1900. After losing again in the final in 1905, Margaret won the title in 1907, ’11 and ’12. 8. OTHER CHAMPIONSHIPS You’ve probably heard a lot about this week’s U.S. Open. We know you’ve heard loads and loads about the 1913 U.S. Open. But here’s the thing: When this year’s championship is in the books, it will mean that as many U.S. Opens have been played at The Country Club as at the Myopia Hunt Club in bucolic South Hamilton, 35 miles north of Brookline. Myopia used to be “in the rota,” hosting the U.S. Open in 1898, 1901, 1905, 1908. The Country Club, on the other hand, debuted as a U.S. Open course in 1913 then waited 50 years for the next, 25 for the third, and 34 for this one. Just don’t think that The Country Club membership has shut the gates to competition, because it hasn’t. This will be the 17th USGA competition held at TCC and only Merion (18) has held more. At The Country Club, there have been six U.S. Amateurs (most recently in 2013 when Matt Fitzpatrick won), three U.S. Women’s Amateurs, a U.S. Girls’ Junior, and a U.S. Junior Amateur and two Walker Cups. TCC is the only club to host a Walker Cup and a Ryder Cup (the memorable ’99 affair). 9. STRANGE STORIES Allan Strange told his uncle, Jordan Ball, that it was a great idea, but he couldn’t go. “Every time I go, he doesn’t play well,” said Allan. But Uncle Jordan was determined, Allan relented, and so the two of them, plus two other friends, headed to Boston first thing Monday morning on June 20, 1988. They were going to be there for Curtis Strange’s U.S. Open playoff against Nick Faldo. Curtis’ identical twin, Allan had given the PGA TOUR a whirl after he got out of East Tennessee State, the same year his brother graduated from Wake Forest. Curtis’ career took off, Allan moved on and got into financial services, but those contrasting paths couldn’t change their spitting image. Which was a good thing because Jordan’s plan to attend the playoff was missing a key ingredient. “They didn’t have tickets,” laughed Curtis. But this was 1988, remember. Security was a lot looser and so Ball told Allan to get behind the wheel of their rental. When they got to the guardhouse leading into TCC, the security officer thinks it’s Curtis Strange and waves him, adding, “Have a great day, Curtis; beat his ass.” If the story ended there, it would have been brilliant fun. But Curtis gets twice the charge out of the story when he found out later that Allan enjoyed a few cold lagers as he stood around the putting green. Fans started to take note. “Imagine, they had to be saying to themselves, ‘Look at Curtis, he’s preparing like I do. He’s drinking a beer.’ ” The punchline to the story is more poignant. The brothers never did meet each other afterward. Too crowded, too frenzied. “But that night at the hotel, the phone rang around 1:30,” said Curtis. “It was Allan and we talked for an hour. It was nice.”

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Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+500
Bryson DeChambeau+1400
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Xander Schauffele+1400
Jon Rahm+1800
Justin Thomas+1800
Collin Morikawa+2000
Brooks Koepka+2500
Viktor Hovland+2500
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US Open 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+500
Bryson DeChambeau+1200
Xander Schauffele+1200
Jon Rahm+1400
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Collin Morikawa+1600
Brooks Koepka+1800
Justin Thomas+2000
Viktor Hovland+2000
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The Open 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+550
Xander Schauffele+1100
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Collin Morikawa+1600
Jon Rahm+1600
Bryson DeChambeau+2000
Shane Lowry+2500
Tommy Fleetwood+2500
Tyrrell Hatton+2500
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Ryder Cup 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
USA-150
Europe+140
Tie+1200

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Sam Burns attempts first TOUR title defense at Valspar ChampionshipSam Burns attempts first TOUR title defense at Valspar Championship

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Sam Burns is only 25, but he has already experienced a wide spread of emotions when leaving the parking lot on Sunday evenings at the Valspar Championship. In 2018, at age 21, Burns played his way into the Valspar Championship via a top-10 finish at The Honda Classic, and he entered the final round with a chance at securing PGA TOUR Special Temporary Membership. He stumbled, though, at No. 16, the opening of the daunting three-hole Snake Pit at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, making a triple-bogey 7. One more bogey at 18 and a closing 2-over 73 sent him tumbling from T3 to T12, temporarily placing his TOUR dreams on hold. Looking back, he believes his rocky finish that day was a blessing, sending him back to the Korn Ferry Tour to gather more experience. Last year, with the Valspar Championship positioned in a different date, finishing in early May, Burns stood on the tee at the 475-yard, water-guarded, dogleg-right 16th once more, this time protecting a slim lead. He pounded a tee shot down the fairway, hit a high 7-iron to 18 feet, and buried the putt, prompting some outward emotion from the usually tranquil Louisianan. By the time Burns arrived to 18, he had a four-shot lead, and a closing 3-under 68 paved the way to his first PGA TOUR victory. It was much nicer pulling out of the parking lot that Sunday with the winner’s trophy – a bronzed, coiled copperhead snake – in the back of his courtesy car. Four years apart, and both Valspar Championship experiences carried plenty of value. To rewrite his personal story on 16 from disaster to triumph, Burns said on Wednesday, “was really cool.” “I think you go from hoping that you can win, or thinking that you can win, to believing it when it actually happens,” Burns said. “So I think it kind of propelled me to a really good year last year. I was able to win again this season (Sanderson Farms Championship), this past fall … so definitely able to kind of look back on those moments and draw upon them.” Burns has shown an uptick in his game following three missed cuts at the end of the West Coast Swing. He tied for ninth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and shared the 36-hole lead at THE PLAYERS Championship, where he ran out of steam and eventually tied for 26th. He has risen to No. 17 on the Official World Ranking, yet one more twentysomething pushing his way toward the top of the world’s pecking order, looking to bust into the top 10 – maybe higher – soon. Becoming No. 1? It’s something Burns does think about. “Obviously, I think it’s a goal, but I think it’s kind of something that I have a lot of other goals set in place before that,” Burns said. “I think it’s kind of a byproduct of a lot of other things, and so (I’m) really just trying to focus on the smaller details, preparation, and trying to improve my game in certain ways.” For the first time last week, the top five spots in the OWGR were occupied by players in their 20s (that lasts until Thursday, when No. 4 Patrick Cantlay turns 30). Justin Thomas, a former No. 1 now ranked eighth, believes the young players are pushing one another to achieve greater heights, and that’s good for the game. Despite THE PLAYERS finish spilling into Monday, five of the world’s top 10 are competing this week outside Tampa. Seven of the top 10 from Monday’s latest OWGR were players in their 20s. “Having Patrick Cantlay do what he did last year pushes me to become better,” Thomas said, “and having Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland play as good as they are, and be in contention in all the majors and win the biggest golf tournaments, I mean, yeah, selfishly, the jealous side of me wants that to be me.” Thomas has played competitive rounds and practice rounds with Burns and has watched on television when Burns has played his way into contention. He is sold on Burns’ well-rounded talents, and he admires the way the LSU product rolls the rock. Burns had some quality chances at winning before breaking through at Innisbrook Resort, but figured out he doesn’t have to change anything, or be perfect, to be the last man standing on Sunday. “I love his putting stroke. He looks so natural and so comfortable and athletic over the ball, but also relaxed,” Thomas said. “And I like his ball flight. He likes to fade the ball like I do. I was very impressed when I played with him. I think he came out with a ‘no fear’ kind of thing, and expected a lot of himself, and probably felt like he could prove some people wrong, and he’s clearly done that.” I think he came out with a ‘no fear’ kind of thing, and expected a lot of himself, and probably felt like he could prove some people wrong, and he’s clearly done that. Collin Morikawa, 25, a two-time major winner currently ranked No. 2 in the world, said Burns was one of those junior players on the AJGA circuit who everybody knew was groomed for a big future. I’ve known Sam since I’ve been like 13,” Morikawa said. “He’s always been a stud. He’s always been, him and Scottie (Scheffler), like AJGA guys, those guys were tearing us apart. Those guys were the ones that were winning everything, playing really well. He’s always been solid, always a game that I knew was going to be out here on TOUR. He went on TOUR and will be here for a long time. And I’ve seen it. I think everyone has.” Burns has four top-10 finishes in 10 starts in 2021-22, and he sits eighth in the season-long FedExCup standings. He was disappointed not to make the United States Ryder Cup team last September, and he appears poised to make that next step as he chases a spot on Davis Love III’s 2022 U.S. Presidents Cup team. Talent-wise, the U.S. side has an embarrassment of riches these days. Being that the 2021 Valspar Championship was Burns’ first TOUR victory, that makes this week his first opportunity to defend a title on the PGA TOUR. All signs are that he is quite ready for the challenge. He’s been groomed for this, after all. “This being my fourth season out here; I feel really comfortable,” Burns said. “I’m just always trying to find ways to improve. It always looks a little bit different, depending on the week and how my game currently is. But I feel really good right now. I’m excited to get this week started.” Who knows what this week’s Sunday exit from Valspar will deliver?

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How to Watch: Presidents Cup, SaturdayHow to Watch: Presidents Cup, Saturday

The 14th edition of the Presidents Cup continues Saturday at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The U.S. Team and International Team will battle it out in different formats before the winning group hoists the trophy. The U.S. Team leads 8-2 over the Internationals with two sessions to be played today before Sunday singles. Saturday afternoon’s Four-ball matches will be announced following the conclusion for the morning Foursomes session. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Scoring Tee times MATCH 11 Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (U.S.) vs. Sungjae Im/Corey Conners (Intl.), 7:12 a.m. Eastern MATCH 12 Cameron Young/Collin Morikawa (U.S.) vs. Adam Scott/Hideki Matsuyama (Intl.), 7:24 a.m. Eastern MATCH 13 Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns (U.S.) vs. K.H. Lee/Tom Kim (Intl.), 7:36 a.m. Eastern MATCH 14 Tony Finau/Max Homa (U.S.) vs. Si Woo Kim/Cam Davis (Intl.), 7:48 a.m. Eastern HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Saturday, 7 a.m.-8 a.m. (Golf Channel/Peacock), 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock). Sunday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock) Radio: Saturday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday: 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR MUST READS Presidents Cup match previews: Saturday morning Foursomes Presidents Cup: Friday Four-ball match recaps Homa a hero in Presidents Cup debut Plenty of Presidents Cup betting action remains despite heavy U.S. lead U.S. Team survives close matches to double lead How the format, scoring works Nine Things to Know: Quail Hollow Club COMMUNITY Text +1 (704) 237-6877 or click here to get behind-the-scenes content from the Presidents Cup and stay up to date with all of the action from Quail Hollow.

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Sungjae Im’s meteoric rise continuesSungjae Im’s meteoric rise continues

The 2019 International Presidents Cup team could only laugh in amazement. It was Monday of tournament week at Royal Melbourne and the team was looking to get on the course and fine-tune their strategy. But wild winds meant practice might prove difficult. Given the forecast didn't call for similar conditions at any other stage during the week, the majority of the team figured playing might do more harm than good on the notoriously hard and fast layout. But not playing golf has never sounded good to Sungjae Im. "It was so windy that I certainly didn’t even think about touching any of the holes because I didn’t want to destroy my confidence," International Team veteran and spiritual leader Adam Scott recalls. "Sungjae was the only guy who went out there to play, so we ended up walking out and watching him play a few holes, and even in a 25 mile-an-hour wind at Royal Melbourne he was just fairway, green, fairway, green, and it was a bit like Iron Byron, like a machine." Im put on quite a show for his new teammates and continued to do so over the practice days. He'd adjust to hitting shots on demand when Captain Ernie Els suggested certain lines. Teammates started making requests - initially out of jest. But Im nailed them all. What they weren't fully aware of was that Im could imitate all of his new friends - on demand - if he wanted to. Im's rise at that point had already been meteoric. He'd gone from the Korean Tour to the Japan Tour to the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour in quick time and opened there with a victory that would help him stay on top of the Points List for the entire season - earning Rookie and Player of the Year honors. A year later he was the 2018-19 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year after a trip to the TOUR Championship and he was a no-brainer for Els to compete in Melbourne at just 21. Scott predicted Im would be a "silent assassin" in the competition that week - a thought that proved on the money as Im went 3-1-1. Els knew Im would be methodically accurate and as such wasn't afraid to give him three different partners across the four days. Entering 2020, Im was riding high on confidence and at The Honda Classic he took a chance to grab his first TOUR win by the throat. Four birdies in his first five holes Sunday put him in the mix and then he brought out his machine-like precision when it counted - on the infamous Bear Trap. Im hit laser approaches right at the stick to set up birdies at Nos. 15 and 17, and on 16 he also took dead aim despite coming from a fairway bunker. It was as bold as it gets and helped him hold off the challengers for a one-shot win. He returns this week to defend his title. "When he is feeling his rhythm, it’s incredibly repetitive, and it doesn’t matter the conditions. He knows he can just point and shoot and get the result," Scott says. "It’s hard for his caddie to talk him into hitting it away from a pin ever because he thinks he can just pin-seek it all day." Im's rise was one he may have dreamed of, but it certainly was one he hadn't initially planned for. This was showcased by the fact he held no home base in the U.S. and just went from hotel to hotel with his parents - playing more TOUR stops than anyone else. It wasn't until late last year he finally purchased a home here. That's a move he can still scarcely believe. It wasn't really that long ago he was a plastic-club wielding toddler growing up on Jeju Island in South Korea with golf-mad parents. His father Ji Taek would watch a lot of golf on television and Sungjae would stare at the rhythmic swings of the pros. When he was a little older he'd head to the indoor range with his mother, Mi Kim, and watch the technique of golfers in real time. He was locking it all in and it was here his obsession with golf would grow. "Sungjae has a special ability to memorize, with his eyes, what he sees or screens... his ability to take a good look at something, put it in the brain, and re-imagine and then implement it... I think it is superior to anyone," Ji Taek recently told the TOUR’s International Media division for an upcoming in-depth PGA TOUR profile. "He watched a lot. It’s a little hard to describe but he was one of a kind in that area. And now he still reviews his swing in videos and watches other golfers’ videos a lot too." So Im had analyzed Scott's swing many times before. His favorite was probably Rory McIlroy. When McIlroy played the Korean Open, a 15-year-old Im actually got a lesson from the Northern Irishman as a perk of the Korean junior system. With all this information ingrained in his growing brain Im went about creating his own perfect swing in his childhood years. But while most kids want to learn to shape and curve the ball, Im was fixated on making it go straight. Dead straight. "When he was a kid Sungjae was very annoyed if he didn’t like the ball he hit. Every time he takes a shot, one by one, he always had to hit the high ball on the straight," his father adds. "From an early age. High ball, straight. If the ball draws or fades a little, he was very annoyed." It was this search for perfection that is part of the birth of his very slow and deliberate backswing. Im comes back slow before transitioning into higher speed on the downswing. The drills used to get a smooth tempo would eventually find their way to the course. "When he would go to the practice range, it’s always tempo. One, two, three. I kept putting it in his head. So, when swinging back, you have to say ‘one, two, three," Ji Taek says. "One, two, three... it must have been in his brain... I repeated it for one to two years. "But now it is slower than that. Originally, his swing tempo was at that level, but his swing seems to have been slower since the Korn Ferry Tour. That’s the rhythm that only he has kept on his own." In the fifth grade - Im began playing junior tournaments on the mainland. Jeju Island sits off the southern tip of South Korea's mainland with Seoul about an hour flight away. It was actually a wrong turn looking for the golf course one day that would change his trajectory. "One day, he participated in a competition held in Cheonan, and we went to the (nearby) driving range by accident," Ji Taek explained. "About 10 academy students are there training under a pro coach. Sungjae was very envious when he sees it. I asked him if he wanted to be in the academy. He immediately replied that he wanted so. So, after consulting with the pro and the academy director, I put Sungjae into the academy." From there he was able to put full focus on his golf. When he reached high school his coach was Hyun Choi - a mentor he continues to work with today. Im often sends video back to Korea for his coach to analyze, they discuss drills, and Im puts it into practice. During the COVID-19 pandemic break in 2020, Im flew Choi out to the U.S to keep their work going. A great swing is one thing - but a great competitive drive and mental game is another. It was the emergence of these traits that saw Im become one of the best young players in the world and had good judges suggesting the U.S. was the place for him. He turned professional at 18 and conquered every step put in front of him. Im's parents couldn't help but be amazed by their son’s quick progress through various Q-School stages in Korea and then in Japan. He held the fifth-best scoring average on the Japan Tour in 2017 and while his top finish was a runner-up - it was a ringing endorsement from a local legend that would have the Im family thinking of taking a run at something bigger. Shingo Katayama - a 31-time Japan Tour winner who also has two top four finishes in majors - played with Im that season. He walked away telling some of his friends he'd seen the future. In his opinion Im was perhaps the only player on that tour with PGA TOUR proficiency. One of those friends, Han Lee, passed on the information to Im's parents. "When we heard it, we were so excited. Sungjae, his mom and me. All of us. The legendary permanent seeded player, Katayama Shingo praised him!" Ji Taek beams even now. "Further, it was not just an ordinary praise, but specifically rate him as the only one who can go to the PGA (TOUR). That was when Sungjae was 18 years old and in the first year of Japan Tour. "We had never thought he had such potential. We just thought it would be nice if Sungjae played on the Japan Tour. When the legendary Katayama Shingo expressed about it, that’s what made a milestone for us. We should go to America!" The family gave themselves a three-year target to progress from the Korn Ferry Tour to the PGA TOUR. He needed just one year - winning in the season opener and the season ender - and the rest is history. In 2019 in his rookie TOUR season he played 35 times - gaining a reputation as an iron man for doing so. Hotel-to-hotel living was actually preferred. His parents in one room, he in another. Im played golf. His parents did the rest. They continue to act as a traveling team to this day and not a round goes by without seeing his folks watching his efforts. But after a few years of the same pattern the golfing nomads have recently put down roots - in Duluth, Georgia - buying a house near TPC Sugarloaf. They're still coming to terms with it but didn't make the decision lightly - canvassing many Korean golfers that came before them. "When I was on the Korn Ferry Tour three years ago, I practiced at Sugarloaf a lot," Im says. "At that time, after seeing this place and feeling the atmosphere of the course, I had already thought that I would definitely want to settle down here. I like the environment where I practice, and I really like it because the atmosphere itself is good." And so now the next step awaits. Im's goals have shifted to more wins and better efforts on the biggest stages. He has 16 career top 10s so far - but only one of these came at a major, THE PLAYERS, a World Golf Championships or in the FedExCup Playoffs. Im battled with Dustin Johnson but ultimately finished as runner-up last November in his Masters debut. Further to that, he likes to keep an eye on lists and his place on them. Like securing a Presidents Cup slot for a rematch against the U.S. in 2022 and climbing up the FedExCup standings and world rankings. "Currently, my President’s Cup ranking is at the top and I want to keep it there. I haven’t won this year yet, but I want to win once," Im says. "I want to get good results in the majors this year. Besides that, what I always want every year is to attend the last TOUR Championship and finish off with good results." Given he's continually exceeded all of his goals as his journey has evolved don't be surprised if in a few months he's a major-winning, Olympic-medal winning, FedExCup champion.

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