Golf, like life, is full of ups and downs. Some days, you hit every fairway, the ball bends to your liking, and the hole looks twice its normal size standing over a putt. Other days, it can be a cruel, unforgiving game and you find yourself in situations similar to Sungjae Im’s during the third round of Truist Championship.
It started on the 14th hole in the Quail Hollow. Like most of the field this week, Im decided to attack the 328-yard par 4. His 312-yard drive ended up high on the rough left side, but an unfortunate bounce let the ball come to rest inches from the water.
Technically I had a shot, but not much of an attitude. So he did what he had to do and took off his right shoe to take an uneven stance with his back foot completely submerged in the pond. After knocking his chip in close, Im converted the 9-foot birdie putt to save what looked to be a disastrous hole.
Then things got even weirder.
On the par-5 15th, Im’s approach settled into the greenside bunker just short of the green. Im stood over his third shot and took a few extra looks before pulling the trigger – and the result was a bladed wedge straight out of every golfer’s worst nightmare.
His shot rocketed over the green and into the stands behind it. Then, an unfortunate bounce caused the ball to go backwards off the fairway, sending it flying onto the green.
He landed quickly, rolled out of the hole and went all the way back to the same bunker he was already standing in – forcing him to replay the same shot as the worst case scenario had already unfolded.
The most impressive part is that Sungjae Im managed to go through the stretch with two holes at par. A nice reminder that resilience is just as important as shooting.
