Arnold Palmer Invitational: Sungjae Im matches Bay Hill best, as Rory McIlroy sets early pace in Florida
- South Korean’s 4-under 68 leaves him three shots off the lead after first round
- Im made the most of par-5s at the Orlando course in PGA Tour event where he has two top-3 finishes
Sungjae Im produced a solid 4-under 68 to match his tournament low score at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday to sit in a share of fifth place, three back of leader Rory McIlroy.
The 23-year-old South Korean, who started his first round on the back nine, showed his fondness once again for Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, taking advantage of the par-5s with birdies on holes 12, 16, 4 and 6, in addition to another birdie on the par-3 14th.
In three previous appearances at the US$12 million showpiece, which is one of three elevated events on the PGA Tour, Im finished in the top three in 2019 and 2020, and tied 21st last season. He first carded a best of 68 at Bay Hill in the final round three years ago.
“I struggled with some tee shots in my front nine but I made some great saves,” Im said. “I then made some good birdies with nice putts which helped with my turnaround. That made me comfortable and then on the back nine, I kept the ball in the fairways and hit a lot of good iron shots for my low score.”
He knocked in putts of 13 feet and 22 feet at the 12th and 14th holes before using some deft chips to make easy birdies from inside five feet for his other gains. The Korean failed to save par from the greenside trap on the fifth for his lone bogey.
Im, who has won once this season and has three other top-10s to rank fifth on the FedEx Cup standings, is hopeful he can keep up his chase for a third career win on Tour.
“I think I have played some solid rounds over the past three years here. I will try to keep this momentum going and hope to continue with some low scores till Sunday,” he said.