Honda Classic 2020: Sungjae Im Rallies to Beat Tommy Fleetwood for Win
March 1, 2020
The 2020 Honda Classic at the PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, had a different leader for each round, but Sungjae Im came out on top when it mattered most Sunday afternoon.
The 2019 Rookie of the Year claimed his first PGA Tour victory by shooting a 66 to finish six under par.
Tommy Fleetwood, who held a one-stroke lead over Brendan Steele atop the leaderboard entering Sunday, gave Im a scare when he birdied a difficult 17th hole to come within one stroke:
The 29-year-old Englishman needed to birdie No. 18 to force a playoff with Im but will have to capture his first PGA Tour title elsewhere after bogeying 18:
Im began the day with five birdies on hole Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 11. He remained keyed in throughout to overcome three bogeys:
Fleetwood was also bested by 29-year-old Canadian Mackenzie Hughes. Hughes finished at five under for lone possession of second place, shooting four under on the day while Fleetwood struggled to even par. Fleetwood finished in third at four under.
Steele, like Fleetwood, bogeyed his final hole to drop into four-way tie for fourth place after leading through 36 holes.
Final Leaderboard and Payouts
1. Sungjae Im (-6): $1.26 million
2. Mackenzie Hughes (-5): $763,000
3. Tommy Fleetwood (-4): $483,000
T4. Byeong Hun An (-3): share of $343,000
T4. Daniel Berger (-3): share of $343,000
T4. Lee Westwood (-3): share of $343,000
T4. Brendan Steele (-3): share of $343,000
T8. Gary Woodland (-2): share of $218,750
T8. Cameron Davis (-2): share of $218,750
T8. Russell Henley (-2): share of $218,750
Full leaderboard available at PGATour.com
Full payout numbers can be found courtesy of Golf.com's James Colgan
Brice Garnett and Wyndham Clark each bumped a round-most 31 spots up the leaderboard to finish in a six-way tie for 11th.
Reigning champion Keith Mitchell failed to make the cut, while 18-hole co-leader Tom Lewis' luck also ran out. Lewis finished six over in a tie for 47th place. Harris English, Lewis' co-leader through 18, had a much stronger finish. The 30-year-old American improved 17 spots from Saturday to finish in a four-way tie for 17th at even par.
Tiger Woods was notably absent from the field. The 15-time major champion opted to skip the event for a second straight year, which is located near his Florida home, after playing through back stiffness in mid-February's Genesis Invitational.
The next PGA Tour event will be the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, beginning Thursday. Francesco Molinari is the defending champion.