Im Sung-jae, Kim Si-woo qualify for Olympic men's golf tournament

Published : Jun 21, 2021 - 14:23 Updated : Jun 21, 2021 - 14:23

In this EPA photo, visitors stand next to the Olympic Rings monument near the New National Stadium in Tokyo last Thursday. (Yonhap)

Former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Im Sung-jae and three-time winner Kim Si-woo have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.

On the latest world rankings announced Monday following the US Open, Im was the top South Korean at No. 26. Kim was next at No. 49.

For men's golf at the Olympics, the top-15 players in the rankings as of Monday will automatically qualify, with a limit of four golfers per country. Beyond that, a maximum of two players from each country that doesn't already have two or more players inside the top 15 will be eligible. In total, the field will have 60 players.

The Olympics, postponed by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic, will have its opening ceremony on July 23. The men's golf tournament begins July 29 at Kasumigaseki Country Club, just outside the Japanese capital.

Im, 23, was the PGA Tour's top rookie for the 2018-2019 season, in which he led all players with 35 starts and 26 cuts made. He had his breakthrough victory at the Honda Classic in March 2020. He has three top 10s in 28 events this season. He tied for second place at the Masters last November, his best performance at a major so far.

Kim has three wins on the PGA Tour, including one at the American Express in January this year. The 25-year-old has four top-10 finishes in 24 tournaments during the current 2020-2021 season.

Should either Im or Kim pull out of the Olympics, Lee Kyoung-hoon, world No. 66, will be the first alternate. Some big names, including former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, have withdrawn from the Olympics, citing scheduling conflicts or their desire to spend time with their families.

For the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, An Byeong-hun and Kim Kyung-tae had qualified, but Kim skipped the event because of Zika virus concerns. Wang Jeong-hun took Kim's spot instead, while An finished as the top South Korean in a four-way tie for 11th.

None of the three medalists from Rio, Justin Rose of Britain, Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Matt Kuchar of the United States, qualified for Tokyo. (Yonhap)