Im Sung-jae, chasing his first victory in four years and seven months, watched his chance slip away after his tee shot on the par-4 14th hole in the final round plunged into the water as he attempted to drive the green, resulting in a painful double bogey.
Im carded a 1-under-par 70 with five birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey in the final round of the Truist Championship, a PGA Tour signature event with a total purse of 20 million dollars, which concluded Saturday at Quail Hollow Club (par 71) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Finishing at 11 under par 273, Im ended the tournament tied for fifth, four strokes behind winner Kristoffer Reitan of Norway, who posted 15 under par 269. Im's world ranking rose 10 spots to 67th from 77th a week earlier.
Im, who had led outright through two rounds before slipping to a tie for fourth after the third round, got off to a clean start in the final round with birdies on the par-4 first and third holes. He shaved two strokes in the front nine with three birdies against one bogey, then added another birdie on the par-5 10th hole to reach three under for the day and set his sights on a comeback victory.
But the 14th hole proved to be his undoing. Im's attempt to drive the green saw his tee shot bounce on the green before tumbling into the pond. He reached the green in three but missed both his par putt and a one-meter bogey putt in succession, walking off with a double bogey. The disappointment was all the greater because he had birdied the same hole in each of the first three rounds.
After losing two strokes, Im dropped from a tie for second to a tie for sixth in an instant, falling out of contention. He failed to make up further ground and closed out the tournament tied for fifth.
Reitan trimmed two strokes in the final round to edge Rickie Fowler of the United States and Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark, who shared second place at 13 under par 271, by two strokes, claiming his first career victory in his 15th PGA Tour start. The winner's check came to 3.6 million dollars.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland shaved four strokes to finish tied for 19th at 5 under par, while Kim Si-woo ended the tournament tied for 65th at 4 over par.
