▲ In this photo by the Maui News via Associated Press, Im Sung-jae of South Korea tees off on the first hole during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, on Jan. 10, 2021. (Yonhap)
▲ In this USA Today Sports photo via Reuters, Im Sung-jae of South Korea hits a tee shot on the fourth hole during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, on Jan. 10, 2021. (Yonhap)

PGA Tour-S Korean

S. Korean Im Sung-jae ties for 5th in 1st PGA tournament of 2021

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- Bolstered by a late birdie streak, South Korean Im Sung-jae finished tied for fifth in the first PGA Tour event of 2021.

Im shot a four-under 69 in the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, on Sunday (local time), for a four-round total of 21-under 271.

Im ended in a tie for fifth with Xander Schauffele for just his second top-10 of the 2020-2021 season.

Harris English beat Joaquin Niemann in a playoff after the two ended the 72 holes knotted at 25-under.

The competition is only open to tournament winners from the previous calendar year, plus those who qualified for the 2020 Tour Championship. Im captured his first career title at the Honda Classic in March last year to join the exclusive field of 42 players.

Im opened his final round with a birdie but then the early momentum disappeared quickly with consecutive bogeys at the second and third hole. Im bounced back with a birdie at the fifth but finished the front nine at even par to fall out of contention.

Im briefly dropped out of the top 10 but recovered with a birdie at the 13th. He finished with a flourish, picking up birdies over his final three holes to climb to fifth place.

Im's previous top-10 showing of the season came at the Masters in November, when he tied for second place in the best performance by a South Korean player at Augusta National.

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