Sungjae Im will be competing in his first Masters after winning the Honda Classic. Photo by @golfdigest (Twitter).
- Sungjae Im picked up his first PGA Tour title at the Honda Classic
- Im will make Masters debut in April; rookies don’t win at Augusta
- Read below to see if he is worth a wager to slip into the green jacket
Sungjae Im, the 2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the year, stared down a host of competitors at the Honda Classic to emerge victorious for the first time on tour. The South Korean whiz kid has proven his worth in the last couple years, and this title results in an invitation to stroll down Magnolia Lane for the first time in his career in April.
Is Im worthy of a bet to win his first career major title or are you better off placing your money elsewhere? His odds haven’t been posted yet because he wasn’t already qualified for the Masters, but after his win at the Honda he certainly will be in the consideration in just one month’s time.
2020 Masters Odds
| Player | Odds at Bovada |
|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | +750 |
| Tiger Woods | +1000 |
| Brooks Koepka | +1000 |
| Jon Rahm | +1200 |
| Justin Thomas | +1200 |
| Dustin Johnson | +1400 |
| Xander Schauffele | +2000 |
| Jordan Spieth | +2500 |
| Justin Rose | +2500 |
| Patrick Cantlay | +2500 |
| Sungjae Im | N/A |
Odds taken March 1st
Sungjae Im Making Masters Debut
To put it bluntly, good luck to any Masters rookie who hopes to win the green jacket in their first attempt – no Masters rookie has won in over 40 years (Fuzzy Zoeller was the last in 1979). The only weakness in Im’s game this season (before winning Honda), was 174th in strokes gained around the greens. However, he was fifth in that category at the Honda and first in strokes gained tee to green, making up a whopping 12 shots on the field.
Happy at Honda. 🇰🇷🏆
Sungjae Im is already thinking about more Ws. #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/TYv0wCIKuM
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 2, 2020
Im Has Checkered Results in Majors
Still just 21 years of age, Sungjae Im has yet to post a strong finish at a major championship, missing three cuts in the four he’s contested in. As he matures and plays more, expect him to improve on that spotty record, because he makes birdies in bunches (11th in birdie average this season), where he’ll have the game to attack Augusta National’s par 5’s (T-38th in par-5 scoring this season).
Stat of the day:
Sungjae Im has made 714 birdies since the start of last year.
That’s 149 more than any other @PGATOUR player. pic.twitter.com/2pBzUm0Uso
— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) March 1, 2020
Im plays basically every single week (35 events last year), and has shown no signs of wear and tear and logically you’d expect him to figure out what his strengths and weaknesses are to be able to compete on the bigger stages. In his rookie of the year campaign, he posted seven top-10’s, and this season he’s put together four top-10 finishes. His record in the majors, however, still sticks out like a sore thumb.
Sungjae Im’s Career Majors Results
| Tournament | Result |
|---|---|
| 2018 PGA Championship | T-42nd |
| 2018 US Open | CUT |
| 2019 PGA Championship | CUT |
| 2019 Open Championship | CUT |
Sungjae Im in Tough to Win Masters
There are just way too many quality golfers who have had tremendous track records around Augusta, and considering he’ll be playing for the first time this year, it’s too big a stretch to expect him to get the job done right away. Keep an eye out for any future top-10 bets at the Masters, however, because Im has a solid enough game to potentially snag that in his tournament debut.
Michael “Hound Dog” Harrison is well known in the sports industry as the resident statisitician for the Jay and Dan Show. He has worked at TSN for over 13 years, where he’s been featured on Sportscentre, That’s Hockey, That’s Hockey 2Nite, The Masters preview shows, and several more.
source https://casinonewsblogger.com/sungjae-im-punches-his-ticket-to-2020-masters-following-honda-classic-victory/
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