In 2014, the year he turned 16, he was named to the national team. In 2015, he turned pro and passed the qualifying schools of the Korean Tour and the Japan Tour.
In 2016, he became a Korean Tour rookie, and Im Sung-jae, born in 1998, was the youngest player on the tour. In 2017, he was 12th on the Japan Tour money list, and in December he finished second at the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament. In January 2018, he won the Web.com Tour season opener, and in August he clinched the money list with his second win of the season. In October he received the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 21, he won PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. He was the first Asian player to win the award since it was introduced in 1990, and in December he played in the Presidents Cup for the first time.
In March 2020, he won his first PGA Tour title at the Honda Classic, and in November he played the Masters for the first time and tied for second. In 2021, he played at the Tokyo Olympics and in October won his second title, the Shriners Children’s Open.
In August 2022, he tied for second at the Tour Championship, the best finish there by a Korean, and in September he played in the Presidents Cup again. In October 2023, he won a team gold and an individual silver in golf at the Hangzhou Asian Games. In 2024, he finished alone in seventh at the Tour Championship.
In 2025, he again reached the Tour Championship, for the seventh straight year, and in October played the Asian Tour’s Macau Open as an invited player. In March 2026, he started the final round of the Valspar Championship two strokes ahead and finished tied for fourth, and in August he missed out on what would have been his eighth straight Tour Championship.
Im Sung-jae (born Mar 30, 1998) turned pro in 2015, the year he turned 17, and became known on Sep 12, 2019, the year he turned 21, when he became the first Asian player to win PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. His first PGA Tour win came at the Honda Classic on Mar 2, 2020, the year he turned 22.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
He was named to the national team in 2014, the year he turned 16.
Source 08 · MHN Sports (Korean) · First Asian and Korean PGA Tour Rookie of the Year · opens in a new tab The date of the selection was not confirmed.After turning pro, he passed the qualifying schools of both the Korean Tour of the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) and the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO).
Source 01 · STN Sports (Korean) · Rookie phenom Im Sung-jae · opens in a new tab The year he turned pro was confirmed in news reports. The date was not confirmed.Im Sung-jae, born in 1998, was the youngest of the players on the Korean Tour.
Source 01 · STN Sports (Korean) · Rookie phenom Im Sung-jae · opens in a new tabSource 02 · STN Sports (Korean) · Players to watch at the Maekyung Open · opens in a new tab Dates within the season were not confirmed.As of an article dated Dec. 11, he was 12th on the Japan Tour money list.
Source 03 · Financial News (Korean) · Second at Web.com Tour Qualifying · opens in a new tab The final ranking was not confirmed.It was his best finish on the Korean Tour.
Source 03 · Financial News (Korean) · Second at Web.com Tour Qualifying · opens in a new tab The dates of the tournament were not confirmed.He finished second at 26 under, 262, earning starts in the first 12 events of the 2018 Web.com Tour season.
Source 03 · Financial News (Korean) · Second at Web.com Tour Qualifying · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.In the season opener, his first event on the tour, he won at 13 under, 275. He was four strokes ahead of second place.
Source 04 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Wins the Web.com Tour’s Bahamas Classic · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Second Web.com Tour win · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.His second win of the season clinched the regular-season money list title and earned his PGA Tour card for the next season.
Source 05 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Second Web.com Tour win · opens in a new tab The date is that of the article; the date of play was not confirmed.He received the awards after the first round of the CJ Cup on Jeju Island. With wins in the opener and in the last event of the regular season, he led the money list all season.
Source 06 · Bridge Economy (Korean) · Web.com Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Second Web.com Tour win · opens in a new tabHe was the only rookie of the 2018–2019 season to reach the Tour Championship, which only the top 30 in the FedEx Cup play.
Source 07 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Im Sung-jae, 19th in the FedEx Cup · opens in a new tab The date is that of the article.He was the first Asian player to win the award since it was introduced in 1990. He played 35 events, made 26 cuts and did not win. MHN Sports writes that his was a somewhat unfamiliar name to ordinary fans until then.
He played for the first time as a captain’s pick for the International team. In the final-day singles match, he beat the U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland by 4 holes. He says the event made him better known to the world.
Source 10 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Presidents Cup, 3 wins, 1 loss, 1 halved match · opens in a new tabSource 11 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Im Sung-jae looks back on the Presidents Cup · opens in a new tabHe won for the first time in his 50th PGA Tour event. He is the seventh Korean to win on the PGA Tour.
Source 12 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · First PGA Tour win · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time; in the United States the tournament ended on Mar. 1.He tied for second with Cameron Smith. At the time, it was the best Masters finish by an Asian player.
Source 13 · Herald Business (Korean) · Im Sung-jae tied for second at the Masters · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.In the final fourth round, he shot 3 under for a total of 10 under, 274. He did not finish in the medal places.
Source 14 · News1 (Korean) · Tokyo Olympics men’s golf · opens in a new tab The final ranking was not confirmed.He won at 24 under, 260. It was his first win in 1 year 7 months, since the Honda Classic.
Source 15 · The Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · Wins the Shriners Children’s Open · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.He tied for second, one stroke behind the winner Rory McIlroy, the best Tour Championship finish by a Korean.
Source 16 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Tied for second at the Tour Championship · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.In the final-day singles match, he beat Cameron Young by 1 hole. The U.S. team won the event for the ninth straight time.
Source 17 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Presidents Cup, the Korean brothers · opens in a new tabWith Kim Si-woo, Cho Woo-young and Jang Yu-bin, he won Korea’s first gold in the men’s team event in 13 years. In the individual event, he won silver at 26 under, 262. Kookje Daily News writes that the team gold gave him a military service exemption.
Source 18 · Edaily (Korean) · Hangzhou Asian Games golf team gold · opens in a new tabSource 19 · Kookje Daily News (Korean) · The PGA duo combine for gold · opens in a new tabIn his sixth straight Tour Championship, he finished alone in seventh at 18 under. The bonus was $2.75 million.
Source 20 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Seventh at the Tour Championship · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.He was tied for 20th after the second round.
Source 21 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Tour Championship, second round · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time, and the final ranking was not confirmed.He played as an invited player. It was his first Asian Tour start in nine years, since 2016.
Source 22 · Edaily (Korean) · Plays the Macau Open · opens in a new tab The result was not confirmed.He started the final round two strokes ahead, shot 3 over and finished tied for fourth. Because of a right wrist injury, he started this season late, in early March.
Source 23 · Asia Economy (Korean) · Tied for fourth at the Valspar Championship · opens in a new tab The date is Korean time.He shot 4 under, 66, one stroke behind the leader, in a tie for second.
Source 24 · Polinews (Korean) · Tied for second after the first round of The Open · opens in a new tab The date is local time, and the final ranking was not confirmed.Starting from 53rd in the FedEx Cup rankings, he finished tied for fifth and advanced to the second event.
Source 25 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Advances to the second playoff event · opens in a new tab The date is local time.He finished tied for 10th but missed out on what would have been his eighth straight Tour Championship.
Source 26 · Asia Economy (Korean) · Season review of Kim Si-woo, Kim Joo-hyung and Im Sung-jae · opens in a new tabSource 25 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · Advances to the second playoff event · opens in a new tab The date is local time, calculated from the article’s schedule saying the tournament runs four days from the 21st.END OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2014–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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Sports · South Korea
Mar 30, 1998 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1998: the year of the event minus 1998, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.02 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.