Two Korean veterans will be in pursuit of a $25 million jackpot this week in Atlanta at the final playoff event on the PGA Tour.
Im Sung-jae and An Byeong-hun will tee off at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in the capital of Georgia on Thursday, along with 28 others who have made it to the last playoff stop.
They qualified for the lucrative event by finishing inside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup points standings after the BMW Championship last week in Colorado.
Im, at No. 11, will make his sixth consecutive Tour Championship appearance, extending his own record for the longest such streak by a Korean golfer at the exclusive-field event. An, who ranked 16th in FedEx Cup points, will make his Tour Championship debut.
Im, who owns two PGA Tour wins, has finished inside the top 25 in half of his 24 starts this season, including seven top-10s.
An came close to his first PGA Tour win this year, recording four top-five finishes, including a playoff loss at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.
The winner will take home $25 million in bonus money. With no cut, even the last-place golfer will receive $550,000.
However, it will be difficult for those in the middle of the pack to make a run for the title because of a unique scoring format at the Tour Championship.
Since 2019, those higher up in the FedEx Cup standings have been getting a head start. This year’s leader, Scottie Scheffler of the United States, will begin the tournament at 10-under, while fellow American and No. 2 overall, Xander Schauffele, will start at eight-under. No. 3 player, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, will be at seven-under standing on the first tee.
Players ranked 11th to 15th will start at three-under, and Im is in this group. Those ranked 16th to 20th, including An, will begin at two-under.
In 2022, Im finished runner-up at 20-under, one stroke behind the champion Rory McIlroy, after starting the tournament 한국을 at four-under. It remains the best Tour Championship showing by an Asian golfer.
In an online interview with Korean media Tuesday night, Im said he will try to take it one stroke at a time.
“You have to post a good score on the first day to set yourself up for a chase the rest of the way,” Im said. “Anyone will have a chance to win here, if you can get closer and closer each and every day.”
Im said he was “proud” of having qualified for the Tour Championship after overcoming a rough stretch in the middle of the season. He credited changes to his swing and putting stroke with helping him get back on track.
“The Tour Championship is a tournament only for the most consistent players each season,” Im added. “The gap with the leader at the start won’t matter so much. I will show people what I am capable of at this tournament.”