Second year PGA Tour professional Sungjae Im speaks to the media about his breakthrough performance at the Honda Classic, earning his first PGA Tour victory at only 21 years old.
PGA Tour: Sungjae Im addresses the media following clutch performance in the final round of the Honda Classic
Q. Talk about the shots at 15 and 17 because eight feet, you roll them in, those were huge.
SUNGJAE IM: 15 and 17 have given me a little bit of trouble this week, especially on 15, I missed it a little bit on the left side, and today I felt good with the club and the wind and felt like I was going to take more of an aggressive approach. Just happy with the result.
Q. Mackenzie rolls in the birdie at 17 from 54 feet and the crowd went crazy. Did that add more pressure on you to hit your putt?
SUNGJAE IM: After Mackenzie made the putt, it definitely sparked my focus up a little bit more and kind of got me more focused on my own putt and probably a little bit more dialed in, so it helped me en route to my birdie putt on 17.
Q. And then clutch shot out of the bunker on 18, that was huge considering the circumstances.
SUNGJAE IM: I’ve been good out of the bunkers all week. I really like the bunkers around here, and once I got up and saw my ball and saw that it was a good lie, I knew that it was just an ordinary, everyday bunker shot. I went up there and I was pretty confident with it, and glad that the ball came out the way it did.
Q. What does this mean, 21 years old, you get your first victory on the PGA TOUR, a year after you’re PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. What does this do for you now? You have to be so incredibly excited.
SUNGJAE IM: Even after winning Rookie of the Year and having a few chances to win, I really wanted to get that win. Had a few good chances that slipped away, but I’m also still very grateful that I could win at such a young age, and to have it happen as fast as it did, I’m very happy and satisfied.
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
March 1, 2020
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports