Missed it right in front of him! 'First Korean player' 8-year streak to reach playoffs narrowly fails... 'Wrist injury → Joint 5th place → Joint 10th place' PGA BMW Championship concludes

*This content was translated by AI.

Im Sung-jae (28, CJ) aimed to become the first Korean player to reach the final event of the PGA Tour Playoffs, the Tour Championship, for eight consecutive years, but narrowly missed out. Meanwhile, Kim Si-woo and Kim Ju-hyung secured their tickets to the final event in succession.

On the 24th (Korean time), Im Sung-jae recorded one eagle, one birdie, and four bogeys for a 1-over-par score in the final fourth round of the 2026 PGA Tour FedExCup Playoffs second leg, the BMW Championship (total purse $20 million), held at Bellerive Country Club (par 70) in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

With a total combined score of 8-under-par 272 strokes, Im Sung-jae finished tied for 10th alongside Michael Brennan (USA), achieving his fifth 'top 10' of the season. However, he narrowly missed securing a spot in next week's final Playoff event, the Tour Championship.

Starting the tournament at 40th place in the FedExCup standings, Im Sung-jae needed to finish alone in 7th or tied for 6th or better to secure a spot in the Tour Championship, which is open only to the top 30 players in the FedExCup rankings.

Im Sung-jae maintained hope with joint 12th place after round 1, joint 4th after round 2, and joint 7th after round 3, but his ranking slipped on the final day, leaving him at 37th in the FedExCup standings.

Im Sung-jae had participated in the Tour Championship for seven consecutive years from 2019 through last year, but he could not overcome the long absence caused by a wrist injury early this season.

Earlier, he mounted a strong charge to finish tied for 5th at the first Playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but that was as far as he got.

On the day, Im Sung-jae was greatly shaken by poor shot execution and putting anxiety in the early stages of the round. His second shot on the 2nd hole (par 4) fell into a water hazard, resulting in his first bogey. He made a three-putt bogey on the 5th hole (par 4) and recorded consecutive bogeys after a troubled tee shot into a bunker on the 6th hole (par 3).

In a critical moment, Im Sung-jae turned the tide with a chip-in eagle from approximately 22 meters out of the rough on the 8th hole (par 5). However, in the later stages, he lost momentum after another three-putt bogey on the 12th hole (par 4), and despite a birdie on the 17th hole (par 5) to make up for it, he could not reduce his score further.

Meanwhile, Kim Ju-hyung (24, Nike Golf) and Kim Si-woo (31, CJ), who competed together, stepped onto the Tour Championship stage for the first time since 2023, three years later.

Kim Ju-hyung finished with a total combined score of 3-under-par 277 strokes, tied for 28th place, and successfully squeezed into the final event by finishing 29th in the FedExCup standings. His fourth career PGA Tour victory at last month's Genesis Scottish Open proved decisive.

Kim Si-woo, who has shown consistent performance with three runner-up finishes this season and 11 top-10 finishes, finished tied for 33rd place with a total combined score of 2-under-par 278 strokes. However, he comfortably joined the final event by maintaining his position in the top tier at 5th place in the FedExCup standings.

The BMW Championship trophy was claimed by Wyndham Clark (USA). Clark staged three consecutive birdies on holes 16 through 18 to finish with a total combined score of 17-under-par 263 strokes, finishing three shots ahead of second-place Patrick Cantlay (USA, 14-under-par 266 strokes). This marked his third victory of the season, following the May CJ Byron Nelson and June U.S. Open, and his fifth career win. He took home a winning prize of $3.6 million (approximately 4.99 billion won).

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) in men's golf rankings firmly maintained his top spot in the FedExCup standings with a joint 12th place finish (7-under-par 273 strokes). Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) finished alone in 3rd place (13-under-par 267 strokes), marking 11th in the FedExCup and securing his spot in the final event.

The FedExCup Playoffs final event, the Tour Championship, with a total purse of $40 million, will be held over four days starting from the 27th at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

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*This content was translated by AI.