PGA Tour winner shuts down LIV rumors with 2 words

With the professional golf season in full swing and the year coming to an end faster and faster, the LIV golf rumor mill is running at full speed. As is sometimes the case, reports are circulating incorrectly identifying PGA Tour players moving to LIV Golf before 2026.

One such report made the rounds on Wednesday, claiming that a two-time PGA Tour-winning South Korean pro was preparing to head to 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, I won the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year (then known as the Web.com Tour) to move up to the major leagues.

And he wasted no time in making an impression. I quickly won Rookie of the Year honors in the 2018-2019 season and then added victories at the 2020 Honda Classic and the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open.

Still just 27 years old, I 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 ranked 27th in the FedEx Cup standings.

In addition to the wins, I have collected 48 top 10s and 22 top 5s in 209 career starts, Earning $34,982,404 on the course for his problems.

And he’s a major threat, even if he hasn’t claimed one yet. In six Masters starts, I had three top-8 finishes, including a T2 in 2020. He added a T7 at the 2024 Open Championship.

With that pedigree, I would clearly be a major asset to LIV Golf and a similarly major loss to the PGA Tour if he were to switch tours. With LIV Golf eager to expand its popularity worldwide, being from golf-crazy South Korea only makes it even more attractive.

But thanks to Im, we now know he’s not going anywhere.

Sungjae Im calls LIV rumors ‘fake news’

On Wednesday, reports citing anonymous sources claimed that I was about to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, along with another South Korean PGA Tour professional.

Other journalists, citing their own sources, denied that reports of Im’s LIV move were true.

That made me take matters into my own hands.

Later on Wednesday, Im went 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, which settled the matter.

“Fake news,” I wrote, along with a “thumbs down” emoji.

The incident is reminiscent of a similar situation an Australian PGA Tour player found himself in earlier this year.

In November, rumors circulated that 27-year-old PGA Tour winner Min Woo Lee was considering a move to LIV Golf.

But in an interview with the Australian Associated PressLee ended all speculation by confirming he would remain on the PGA Tour.

‘There have been a lot of rumours. I’m not going [to LIV Golf] and I’m just going to play on the PGA Tour,” Lee said MONKEY. “So I’m happy with where I am now and yes, I’m looking forward to next year.”