HONOLULU, HAWAII | While Matt Kuchar was being called to the tee for his Wednesday pro-am tee time at Waialae Country Club, Brandt Snedeker was stopping for photos with fans and Justin Thomas, three days removed from a victory in Maui, was heading to lunch. Sungjae Im stood unnoticed in the middle of the crowd around the practice putting green.
The 21-year-old pulled a bottle of water from a greenside cooler and paused during a transition from short game to putting work as the sun broke through during a break in the windblown rain showers that are expected to dampen the Sony Open this week.
Im’s relative anonymity – at least from outside the PGA Tour’s inner circle – may be short lived.
If the PGA Tour-watching public has only a vague sense of who Im is, his contemporaries know all about him.
“We call him ‘the weapon.' He is an unbelievable golfer. The guy just does not miss. He’s so, so good at what he does." – Abraham Ancer
They marvel at his Rookie of the Year season that included 35 starts and seven top-10 finishes in 2...
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