Take me to your leader: A look at Im's rise up the ranks

When professional golf was paused in March, perhaps no player was hitting his stride quite like Sungjae Im.

Im picked up his first PGA TOUR victory at The Honda Classic, then took the lead in the FedExCup race with his third-place finish in the following week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Im, who finished two strokes behind Tyrrell Hatton at Bay Hill, was trying to become the first player since David Duval to win his first two PGA TOUR titles in consecutive weeks.

CLIMBING THE LADDER

Im was the Korn Ferry Tour’s Player of the Year in 2018, then won the PGA TOUR’s Rookie of the Year Award last year.

In the 30-year history of the Korn Ferry Tour, only one other player has won those awards in consecutive seasons: Stewart Cink, in 1996 and 1997. Cink has gone on to have a great career, winning six times, including the 2009 Open Championship, and accumulating more than $38 million in official earnings. He is just 11 starts away from his 600th on TOUR.

Should Im continue his stellar season and win PGA TOUR Player of the Year, he would join Tiger Woods as the only players to win the TOUR’s Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year awards back-to-back.

PROLIFIC PLAYER

Since the beginning of last season, no player has been more active than Im. During that span, he has played in 172 official PGA TOUR rounds, 25 more than anyone else.

But when you have played as well as he has, how can you blame him? Im has 88 rounds in the 60s over the last two PGA TOUR seasons. Second on that list is Charles Howell III, with 71. He has 45 rounds of 67 or lower – second on that list is Hideki Matsuyama, with 40. And making birdies? Sungjae has racked up 739 birdies or eagles since the beginning of last season – 159 more than any other player.

Im also leads the TOUR in par-5 scoring in relation to par (267 under), total fairways hit, total greens in regulation and total one-putts during that span.

Sungjae has a staggering 40 rounds over the last two PGA TOUR seasons in which he’s gained at least 2 strokes on the field tee-to-green. In that span, only Matsuyama has more, with 44.

It isn’t just the sheer quantity of golf Sungjae has played in his young professional career – he’s been playing consistently well. Im has only two missed cuts on the PGA TOUR in the last calendar year – a stretch of 24 starts.

BIRDIE MACHINE

In 2018-19, Im became the first player from Asia to win PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. Along the way, he made 498 birdies and eagles – 90 more than any other player (Adam Schenk was second, with 408).

It was the most par-breakers in a single PGA Tour season in 15 years – the last player with more was Vijay Singh in 2004, when he made 501 en route to winning nine times and claiming PGA TOUR Player of the Year.

In the last forty years, only two players have had more prolific birdie seasons than Sungjae did. Singh in 2004, and Steve Flesch, who made 509 in 2000.

PRESIDENTS CUP BREAKTHROUGH

Im, who was 21 when he played last year’s Presidents Cup, was a star for the International Team at Royal Melbourne. He went 3-1-1 to become the first player under the age of 24 to win 3½ or more points in a single Presidents Cup. He also became the youngest player in Cup history to lead in points won; he tied Abraham Ancer and Justin Thomas for most points won at Royal Melbourne

Im led an International side that nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in golf history. Entering the week, the United States team had an average World Ranking of 12.2, the best by any team entering a Presidents Cup. The International team had only one player ranked better than 20th in the world (Adam Scott, 18th). The International Team took a two-point lead into Singles, but fell short on Sunday. Im and Cameron Smith were the only two International players to win their matches in singles play.

IMPROVEMENT ACROSS THE BOARD

A dive into Im’s detailed performance statistics is even more encouraging.

It’s difficult to find a statistic that he hasn’t improved on from last season. Take his Strokes Gained categories. He has improved this season in each Strokes Gained category: Off-the-Tee, Tee-to-Green Approach and Putting.

He’s made an enormous leap in approach-shot proximity, as well. Im ranked 131st in that statistic last season, a bit below the PGA TOUR average. He’s up nearly 100 spots this season, ranking 34th and vastly outperforming the TOUR’s mean.

Not into the new data? How about the more traditional numbers. He has improved in total driving (26th to 18th), greens in regulation (67th to 61st) and birdie average (26th to 10th) and scoring average (25th to 10th).

No matter how you slice it, the future is endlessly bright for one of the newest stars on golf’s horizon.