With the pro golf offseason in full swing and the year accelerating to its end, the LIV golf rumor mill is running hot. As is sometimes the case, reports have circulated incorrectly identifying PGA Tour players who are moving to LIV Golf for 2026.
One such report made the rounds on Wednesday, alleging a two-time PGA Tour-winning South Korean pro was preparing to leave for LIV. But on Wednesday night, that player, Sungjae Im, shut down those rumors with two simple words on social media.
Here’s what you need to know.
Sungjae Im’s resume makes him attractive to PGA Tour, LIV
After starting his career on the Japan Golf Tour, Im won Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year in 2018 (then known as the Web.com Tour) to graduate to the big leagues.
And he didn’t waste time making an impact. Im quickly won Rookie of the Year honors in the 2018-19 season, then added victories at the 2020 Honda Classic and 2021 Shriners Children’s Open.
Still only 27 years old, Im made 20 of 28 cuts in the 2025 PGA Tour season, collecting nine top-25 finishes and three top 10s, including a T5 at the 2025 Masters. He finished the season at 27th in the FedEx Cup standings.
In addition to the wins, Im has accumulated 48 top 10s and 22 top 5s in 209 career starts, earning $34,982,404 on the course for his troubles.
And he’s something of a major threat, even if he hasn’t claimed one yet. In six Masters starts, Im has three top-8 finishes, including a T2 in 2020. He added a T7 at the 2024 Open Championship.
With that pedigree, Im would clearly be a big get for LIV Golf and a similarly large loss for the PGA Tour were he to switch tours. With LIV Golf keen on expanding their popularity globally, the fact that Im hails from golf-crazed South Korea only makes him more attractive.
But thanks to Im, we now know he’s not going anywhere.
Sungjae Im brands LIV rumors ‘Fake news’
On Wednesday, reports citing anonymous sources claimed Im was readying to ditch the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, along with another South Korean PGA Tour pro.
Other journalists, citing their own sources, denied that the reports about Im’s LIV move were true.
That caused Im to take the matter into his own hands.
Later on Wednesday, Im took to his Instagram account and posted a screenshot of the original report. But he added two words and an emoji on top of the screenshot that settled the matter.
“Fake news,” Im wrote, along with a “thumbs down” emoji.
And with those two words, the PGA Tour star confirmed that contrary to reports, he isn’t switching tours and will continue to ply his trade on the PGA Tour.
