Atlanta: Im Sung-jae will play in his seventh consecutive Tour Championship to close out the annual PGA Tour playoffs. Im squeezed into the exclusive-field event by finishing 28th in the FedEx Cup standings after the end of the BMW Championship, the second leg of the playoffs, at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owing Mills, Maryland, on Sunday (local time). Only the top 30 players after two playoff events are eligible for the Tour Championship, which begins Thursday in Atlanta.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Im shot a three-under 67 in the final round at the BMW Championship to finish at 10-over 290, tying for 40th among 49 players in action. Im slipped from 25th to 28th in the FedEx Cup rankings but still extended his Tour Championship appearance streak to seven-the longest ever by a Korean player.

Im will now try to salvage what has largely been a disappointing season. He has only recorded three top-10 finishes this year, the fewest in a season for the 2018-2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

The PGA Tour has eliminated the starting strokes system at the Tour Championship, where the No. 1 player in FedEx Cup points used to begin the event at 10-under, with No. 2 at eight-under, and so forth. This will level the playing field for all 30 players at the start, and Im, who would have faced a huge deficit before even teeing off at previous Tour Championships, will be given a fairer shot to compete this time.

Kim Si-woo was the only other South Korean at the BMW Championship, and he ended up 37th in FedEx Cup points after tying for 19th at Caves Valley at even-par 280. He carded a three-under 67 in the final round, his best score of the week, but it wasn't enough to push him into the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings. Kim's last Tour Championship appearance came in 2023.