Sungjae Im withdraws from PGA Championship after testing positive for COVID-19
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AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 09: Sungjae Im of South Korea reacts after making par on the second green during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 09, 2022 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Written by Staff
Korean star Sungjae Im has withdrawn from the PGA Championship at Southern Hills after testing positive for COVID-19 while in Korea for a domestic tournament last week.
The two-time PGA TOUR winner returned home for the first time in nearly three years to compete in the Woori Financial Group Championship but withdrew before the start of the first round on Thursday.
Korean media reported that COVID-19 positive patients must observe a seven-day quarantine and are not permitted to travel within 10 days of the initial positive test date. The 23-year-old Im is expected to fly back to the U.S. this weekend. The PGA Championship, the year’s second major, starts on Thursday, May 19.
Im is currently ranked 11th on the FedExCup standings, thanks largely to a second TOUR win at the Shriners Children’s Open in October and four other top-10s. He finished tied eighth at the Masters Tournament last month for his second career top-10 in a major and is touted to follow in the footsteps of countryman, Y.E. Yang, who became the first golfer from Asia to win a major at the 2009 PGA Championship.
He has featured in the last four editions of the PGA Championship, with a best of T17 last season when the event was played at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. Scott Stallings will replace Im in the field.