The Korean men’s golf “Big 4” such as Lim Seong-jae and Kim Si-woo are on the US Professional Golf (PGA) Tour season two Challenge for the Wanamaker Trophy at the PGA Championship in the fourth major tournament.
Im Seong-jae, Kim Si-woo, Kim Joo-hyung, and Lee Gyeong-hoon, the signboards of Korean men’s golf, compete against 156 top players at the 105th PGA Championship held at Oak Hill CC (par 70, 7394 yards) in Rochester, New York on the 17th. Yang Yong-eun, who became Asia’s first major champion by defeating Tiger Woods (USA) in the final round of the 2009 tournament, will also participate.안전놀이터
In this year’s PGA Championship, PGA Tour players and LIV golf players will compete to win the championship. The Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA America), which supervises the tournament, opened without restrictions, and all players in the top 100 in the world without special circumstances such as injuries participated.
Justin Thomas (USA) is aiming for a second and third championship in a row, and world No. 1 John Rahm (Spain) is aiming for two consecutive major victories after the Masters Tournament last April. The ‘Big 3’ match between world number 2 Scotty Scheffler (USA) and 3rd place Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) will also raise the interest of fans. Jordan Spieth (USA) dreams of a Grand Slam by winning the four major tournaments following the Masters, US Open (2015) and The Open (2017). Tiger Woods, who recently underwent leg surgery, will not be attending.
In LIV Golf, 18 players participate. Brooks Koepka (USA), who tied for second place after competing for the championship with John Rahm at this year’s Masters, hopes for a third win following two consecutive losses in 2018 and 2019. Phil Mickelson (USA), who set a new record for the first 50 major champions in the 2021 tournament, will also recover his recent skills, including a tie for second place in the Masters, and re-challenge the record for the oldest championship.
Since launching in June 2022, LIV Golf has not produced a major champion. After winning the 150th The Open (July) championship last year, Cameron Smith finished the PGA Tour season and switched to LIV golf.
Im Seong-jae, ranked 18th in the world, is poised to continue winning the KPGA Korean Tour Woori Finance Championship last week. Im Seong-jae promised, “I have difficulties adapting to jet lag again, but I want to overcome it quickly and show good results.” He is determined to wash away the disappointment of not being able to compete in the United States due to being infected with Corona 19 last year.
Kim Si-woo, who ranked 36th in the world after tying for second place with AT&T Byron Nelson, is also planning to pour out his good game sense in major tournaments. Kim Joo-hyung and Lee Kyung-hoon, who are ranked 19th in the world, are also showing steady results recently, raising expectations.
The PGA Tour homepage revealed the power rankings with a high probability of winning, placing Schaeffler, Ram, and Koepka in 1st to 3rd places. McIlroy was ranked 9th and Lim Seong-jae was ranked 17th.
Oak Hill CC, which will host the 4th PGA Championship in 10 years since 2013, was recently renovated and reborn as a new course. It is a par 70 course with a length of 7,400 yards that requires long hitting power.