4 S. Koreans stay alive in PGA Tour playoff

All four South Korean players who have qualified for the PGA Tour playoff are still alive with one tournament in the books.

Im Sung-jae, Tom Kim, Kim Si-woo and An Byeong-hun all ranked inside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings following the conclusion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis on Sunday.

The top 70 in FedEx Cup points after the end of the regular season made it to the Memphis tournament, and now the top 50 will move on to the BMW Championship, which will tee off Thursday in Olympia Fields, Illinois.

Then the top 30 after the BMW Championship will advance to the Tour Championship in Atlanta starting Aug. 24.

Of the South Korean quartet, Im was the top performer at the St. Jude Championship, shooting an 11-under 269 to tie for sixth place. He started off with two birdies on his first three holes at TPC Southwind before a weather delay of about 90 minutes halted his momentum. He had pars on each of his remaining 15 holes for a round of 68.

In the FedEx Cup standings, Im jumped four spots to No. 28.

Kim Si-woo was the next-best South Korean in Memphis, where he tied for 16th at nine-under 271 after shooting a 68 on Sunday. He moved up a notch to 17th place in the FedEx Cup rankings.

Tom Kim, whose Korean first name is Joo-hyung, struggled to a round of 72 with four bogeys and two birdies on Sunday. He ended up tied for 24th at seven-under. In the FedEx Cup standings, Kim fell four spots to 18th.

An had a birdie erased by a double bogey and a bogey in his final round of 72, which saw him finish at five-under overall, tied for 37th.

An remained safely inside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings, falling one spot to No. 38. (Yonhap)