Sungjae Im has brightened his hopes of advancing to the second round by placing near the top on the first day of the opening tournament of the 2026 PGA Tour playoffs.

Im shot 4-under 66 with seven birdies and three bogeys in the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship (total purse of $20 million), the first playoff event held at TPC Southwind (par 70) in Memphis, Tennessee, on the 14th (KST), tying for 6th place.

He is just one stroke behind the co-leaders (5-under 65).

Having advanced to the Tour Championship, the final playoff event, for seven consecutive years from 2019 to last year, Im entered this season's playoffs at No. 53 in the FedEx Cup rankings after struggling with early-season injuries.

The PGA Tour playoffs feature the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup rankings up to last week's regular-season finale, the Wyndham Championship. A total of 69 players competed in this event, excluding 64th-ranked Daniel Berger (USA), who withdrew due to injury.

Following this tournament, the top 50 in the FedEx Cup rankings will advance to the second event, the BMW Championship, next week, before the field is narrowed down to 30 for the final playoff event, the Tour Championship, opening on the 27th.

If Im finishes the tournament in his current position, his FedEx Cup ranking will rise from 53rd to 45th, enabling him to secure a spot in the BMW Championship.

On this day, Im grabbed his first birdie on the 3rd hole (par 5) and followed it up with consecutive birdies on the 5th and 6th holes (both par 4s) to build early momentum. After recording his first bogey on the 8th hole (par 3), he finished the front nine 2-under.

On the back nine, he showed some fluctuating performance, trading a birdie on the 10th hole (par 4) with a bogey on the 11th hole (par 3), and another birdie on the 14th hole (par 3) with a bogey on the 15th hole (par 4).

However, Im demonstrated strong finish by hitting a brilliant third shot from the bunker near the green on the 16th hole (par 5) to pick up a birdie, and sinking a birdie putt of just over 6 meters on the ensuing 17th hole (par 4).

Five players, including Jordan Spieth and Michael Kim (both USA), tied for the lead at 5-under 65, while Tommy Fleetwood (England), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), and Adam Scott (Australia) joined Im in a tie for 6th place.

World No. 1 and FedEx Cup points leader Scottie Scheffler (USA) started the tournament tied for 17th at 2-under 68.

Kim Joo-hyung, ranked 26th in the FedEx Cup, recorded 1-under 69 to tie for 26th.

Kim Si-woo, who reached the playoffs ranked 7th in the FedEx Cup after finishing in the top 10 ten times this season, finished the first round tied for 37th at even-par 70, dropping shots after carding one eagle and two birdies against two bogeys and one double bogey.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) struggled, shooting a 4-over 74 to sit in 68th place.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)