(Reuters) – Im Sung-jae roared into contention at the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta on Saturday and said that while he was trying not to the think about a potential $15 million windfall he had already started making plans on how to spend it.
The 22-year-old South Korean shot a superb six-under-par 64 in the second round at East Lake to sit in second place, one stroke behind leader Dustin Johnson.
The winner from this week’s elite 30-player field will be crowned FedExCup champion and take home $15 million.
“I’m aware of the $15 million on the line, but I try not to think about it when I play,” Im told reporters.
“It all seems like a dream. Just thinking about it now makes me pretty happy … I would buy a house in the United States and save so that I can live a comfortable life in the future.”
The world number 27 secured his first PGA Tour win at the Honda Classic and finished third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March before the COVID-19 shutdown but has not been firing on all cylinders since golf resumed.
“I honestly wasn’t feeling confident the last few weeks. I feel like it’s all coming back to me now,” Im added.
“I haven’t been swinging … like I’ve been wanting to, … starting last week though, my swing started to feel a lot better and I was hitting the ball similar to how I was before the quarantine.
“That allowed me to play with more freedom and consistency.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
