Im Sung-jae positioned himself among the leaders on the opening day of the PGA Tour's signature Truist Championship (total purse $20 million), getting off to a smooth start in his pursuit of a first win of the season.
Im carded one eagle and seven birdies against two bogeys during the first round held Wednesday (local time) at Quail Hollow Club (par 71) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Starting his round at the 10th hole (par 5), Im was unable to hole out on his final hole, the 9th (par 4), due to heavy rain but still found himself near the top of the leaderboard.
Im, who got off to a late start this season after suffering a wrist injury in the offseason, had failed to finish inside the top 25 in four PGA Tour events since tying for fourth at the Valspar Championship in March.
But this day was different. As if determined to make up for his slump, he came out swinging from the opening round. Im racked up six birdies on his front nine alone before briefly wavering with bogeys on the 3rd and 5th holes (both par 4s) on his back nine.
He bounced back on the 7th hole (par 5), landing his second shot on the green and sinking an eagle putt from just over four meters to pick up two strokes at once.
Matt McCarty of the United States, who completed all 18 holes, shot an 8-under 63 to take the solo lead.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, the world's No. 2 in men's golf and a four-time winner at Quail Hollow Club, managed just one birdie to card a 1-under 70.
Kim Si-woo, who has been on an upswing this season, made three birdies through 16 holes and ended his round with two holes remaining.
