Trio of S. Koreans teeing off in 1st leg of PGA Tour playoffs

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- Three South Korean golfers will participate in the inaugural round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, with two of them poised for advancement to the subsequent playoff event and the third aiming to join them. Kim Si-woo, Tom Kim, and Im Sung-jae have all qualified for the tournament, which commences on Thursday at the TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

This marks the opening of three FedEx Cup playoff tournaments, wherein the top 70 players from the FedEx Cup standings are eligible. The top 50 following this week's competition will secure a spot in the subsequent playoff stop, the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. The zenith of the playoffs will be the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where the top 30 players will vie for supremacy.

Kim Si-woo, ranked No. 7, and Tom Kim, ranked No. 26, have firmly secured their positions within the top 50 and are expected to progress through the first round. Im Sung-jae, ranked 53rd, faces a formidable challenge to ascend to the top 50 and maintain his streak of participating in seven consecutive Tour Championships.

Kim Si-woo has been a pillar of consistency this season, ranking as the highest-ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings without a victory. In 21 starts, he has made 20 cuts and secured 10 top-10 finishes, second only to world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. He secured a tie for 14th place at last year's FedEx St. Jude Championship, advancing to the following playoff event alongside American veteran Justin Thomas.

Tom Kim has also experienced a resurgence of late. Following a three-year title hiatus, he clinched the Genesis Scottish Open in July and tied for fifth at the Wyndham Championship last week, propelling him into the top 30 of the FedEx Cup rankings. Currently ranked No. 30 in the world, Tom Kim will be paired with Sweden's Ludvig Aberg for the opening two rounds.

Im Sung-jae has experienced a mixed bag of results this year, securing three top-10s in 20 tournaments, but none since late May. His performances have been inconsistent, with three missed cuts and three top-15 showings among his 10 most recent tournaments. Im will be paired with Canada's Sudarshan Yellamaraju for the first two rounds. There will be no cut this week, with the players vying for a US$3.6 million prize.