'Fantasy Lake Shot' Im Sung-jae Ties for Fourth After 3R at PGA TrueWest Championship... Four Shots Behind the Leader

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Aiming for his first victory of the season, Im Sung-jae (28) displayed heroic determination by wading into the lake, keeping alive his hopes for a comeback win.

On the 10th (Korea time), Im Sung-jae shot a 1-under-par 70 with one eagle, two birdies, and three bogeys at the Signature Event TrueWest Championship on the PGA Tour, held at Quail Hollow Club (par 71) in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. The tournament's total purse is $20 million.

Im Sung-jae, who had been leading alone until the previous day, dropped to a tie for fourth place with Nikolai Hojgaard of Denmark at a cumulative 10-under-par 203. He is four shots behind Alex Fitzpatrick of England, who shot 14-under-par 199 and holds sole possession of the lead.

Im Sung-jae stumbled early with a bogey on the 4th hole (par 3) but recovered with a birdie on the 8th hole (par 4).

The highlight came in the back nine. After catching a spectacular eagle on the 10th hole (par 5) to build momentum, Im turned a crisis into an opportunity on the 14th hole (par 4). When his tee shot stopped in the rough near the lake on the left, he rolled up his pants and waded into the water to attempt his second shot. The shot, reminiscent of Park Se-ri's legendary moment in 1998, landed 2.8 meters from the hole and was converted into a birdie.

However, the closing was disappointing. Im finished the round with a gap to the leader after committing consecutive bogeys on the 15th hole (par 5) and the 17th hole (par 3). Im, who had struggled early in the season due to the aftermath of a wrist injury, signaled his revival by maintaining a top-tier position from the first round of this tournament.

Meanwhile, Kim Si-woo (31) shot an even-par 71 today, finishing at a cumulative 1-over-par 214 and remaining tied for 54th place.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland fell into a sudden slump. McIlroy, who returned to the tour after about a month, lost four shots, including four consecutive bogeys, and plummeted to a tie for 37th place with a 1-under-par 212.

At the top of the leaderboard, Fitzpatrick fired eight birdies (and one bogey) to post a 7-under-par 14-under-par 199, securing sole possession of first place. Christopher Leitner is in sole second place, one shot behind at 13-under-par 200, while Cameron Young of the United States sits in sole third place at 12-under-par 201.

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*This content was translated by AI.