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South Korean prodigy Sungjae Im enjoyed a hugely encouraging debut performance at Augusta in this year’s somewhat delayed Masters. There was a moment when it looked like Im could provide a credible challenge to Dustin Johnson for the green jacket, moving to within a single shot of Johnson in the final round.

However, a little bit of inexperience on the sixth and seventh holes saw the deficit return to four shots – a gap which proved unassailable for Johnson to claim his first Masters title. Im went on to finished tied for second with Australian Cameron Smith, which was a wonderful result for the 22-year-old, who appears to be in fine, unflappable form at present.

This year’s PGA Tour continues not far from Augusta, with Sungjae Im entered into the RSM Classic on St. Simons Island in Georgia. Before a ball has even been hit, the South Korean’s Masters showing has seen the online sportsbooks rate him as joint-third favorite for this event. The fastest growing US licensed sports betting operator, FOX Bet, has priced Im at just +2000 for the outright win in its RSM Classic futures market.

Im is certainly one to watch on the PGA circuit right now, but he has a short-to-medium term target away from the PGA greens looming large. The 2021 Tokyo Olympics is Im’s number-one priority at the minute, with the South Korean desperate to win an Olympic medal. Not only would it be the pinnacle of his fledgling golf career, it would also have lasting effects on the next few years of his life.

That’s because Korean law states that all males must enrol in military service for a minimum of 18 months before the age of 28. There was an instance of this hampering the sporting career of Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean striker Son Heung-min, who was forced to enrol in the Marine Corps boot camp in Jeju earlier this year. Fortunately for Son, he was able to secure an army exemption after securing a gold medal for his nation at the Asian Games in 2018 and Sungjae Im is looking to achieve a similar feat next year to minimise disruption to his golf career.

The loophole for professional athletes was introduced by former president Park Chung-hee, who deemed that sportsmen and women who medalled in an Olympic or Asian Games could be exempt from army requirements, instead having to commit to 544 hours of community services over a three-year period.

When asked during the recent Masters if winning the coveted green jacket would be enough to secure an exemption from conscription requirements, Im seemed insistent that “only a medal” in an Olympic or Asian Games would suffice.

The young man is certainly not hiding when it comes to practising and honing his golf game ahead of next summer’s games in Tokyo. In fact, no man on the PGA Tour has entered more events than him. He is already the highest-ranked South Korean professional in the world rankings, streets ahead of both Byeong Hun An and Sunghoon Kang, with his tied second finish at Augusta moving him up to 18th. This ranking should be more than enough to secure qualification to the Olympics in Japan.

It isn’t only Im’s consistent four rounds at Augusta that have seen the golfing world talk about him; it’s his swing too. In fact, Sungjae Im has one of the slowest and most deliberate swings off the tee and floor. While some players prefer to hurry their takeaway, Im’s is much slower and more considered. In fact, it’s resulted in many fans wondering if there is something wrong with their satellite signals watching him tee off!

Im was interviewed about his swing by the PGA Tour directly and he pointed to a defining moment in his career “four years ago” when he suffered with ball striking. He insists that his new slow backswing enables him to “hit the ball where [he wants] to”, so all power to him for making such a bold move.