Im produces best finish by an Asian in Augusta 'Masters' history

AUGUSTA: Koreas SungjaeIm produced Asias best finish at the Augusta Masters on Sunday with an impressive joint runner-up outing in his debut appearance at the famous tournament.

The 22-year-old player bettered countryman K.J. Choi's third-place performance in 2004 with some glorious golf, closing with a final round of 4-under 68 for a 15-under 273 total. He finished five strokes behind winner Dustin Johnson, who earned his maiden Masters victory with a tournament record of 20-under 268.

Im, who won The Honda Classic for his first PGA Tour victory in March, started the day four behind Johnson and got within one stroke of the lead with birdies on holes two and three as Johnson bogeyed fourth and fifth holes. However, Johnson, the reigning FedExCup champion and world No.1, simply shifted to a different a gear down the stretch to cruise home to an emotional win ahead of Im and Australia's Cameron Smith.

"Finishing tied for second is unbelievable, and I'm proud of my game. This is definitely going to be a memorable Masters for me, not only because this is my first appearance, but my initial goal at the start of the week was just to make a cut and get into the weekend," said a delighted Im. The Korean was the 2019 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. IANS

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