“I gained confidence once again.”
Lim Seong-jae (25) said this, showing confidence in the upcoming season after recording top 10 in two consecutive tournaments at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (total prize money of 20 million dollars) on the PGA Tour.
On the 13th (Korean time), in the 4th round of the tournament held at TPC Scottsdale (par 71) in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, Lim Seong-jae tied 4 birdies and 2 bogeys to hit 2 under par 69 for a final total of 11 under par. With 273 strokes, he tied for sixth place with Jordan Spieth (USA) and Tyrrell Hatton (England). It is the third top 10 in the 2022-2023 season, including a tie for 4th at the Farmers Insurance Open, which ended two weeks ago, and a tie for 7th at the Shriners Children’s Open in October of last year.
Lim Seong-jae, who married his girlfriend in December of last year, began his New Year’s schedule starting with the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January. However, it was regrettable that the results were not as good as he expected.
He tied for 13th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and tied for 18th at the American Express, where only players who had participated in the playoff tour championship with last year’s winner showed ups and downs, such as missing the cut at the Sony Open. What Lim Seong-jae was particularly regretful about was that he failed to show good performances on the last day in both competitions and left the top 10.
Lim Seong-jae, who needed a turnaround, made a breakthrough by finishing the season in a tie for 4th at the Farmers Insurance Open, the last tournament in January.
Lim Seong-jae, who lacked training compared to previous years due to marriage preparations at the end of last year, did not show the best performance in the game held at the beginning of the new year. He slipped out of top 10 competition by a stroke or two due to small mistakes, such as failing to control distance on his short approach and not getting his ball close to the hole.
Im Seong-jae, who identified his problems, trained with increased concentration again prior to the Farmers Insurance Open, and succeeded in improving his performance.
Lim Seong-jae, who finished the Farmers Insurance Open in a tie for fourth place, said, “I was pushed out of the top 10 due to a small mistake in the previous tournament, but due to a lack of winter training, I made a mistake that I didn’t do well in the short game.” “Fortunately, through training, little by little I got my game back and I felt like I was improving since the Farmers Insurance Open.” 온라인카지노
Im Seong-jae, who participated in the tournament for 4 consecutive weeks with the start of the new year, took a week off after finishing the Farmers Insurance Open and started preparing for the 5-week march from February to March.
However, Lim Seong-jae, who has been training without letting go of the club even during the break, continued his upward trend by finishing in the top 10 in two consecutive tournaments. In particular, four of the tournaments to be held over the next five weeks, including the Phoenix Open, the Genesis Invitational (total prize money of 20 million dollars), the Arnold Palmer Invitational (total prize money of 20 million dollars), and the Players Championship (total prize money of 25 million dollars), are special prizes designated by the PGA Tour. Many of the top players in the world rankings participate in the tournament.
Lim Seong-jae said, “I think the fans enjoyed the game because there were a lot of good players. It seems that I gained confidence once again by achieving a top 10 result in a tournament where many of the top players in the world rankings appeared.”
Im Seong-jae, who has risen to the top 10 in two consecutive competitions, also expressed expectations for the Genesis Invitational (total prize money of 20 million dollars), which opens on the 17th (Korean time). The Genesis Invitational, hosted by a Korean company and run by the foundation of Tiger Woods, the ‘golf emperor’, is also a special tournament designated by the PGA Tour.
Im Seong-jae said, “I was able to finish this week in a good mood by achieving top 10 results,” and promised, “I was disappointed with the bogey from the 18th hole, but there is a big tournament next week, so I will work harder.” At the same time, he expected, “The condition of the course in each competition is different and the level of difficulty is different, so I want to show a good game by adjusting my condition well according to it.”
In this tournament, Scotty Scheffler (USA) succeeded in winning the tournament for the second time in a row and returned to world No. 1. Schaeffler, who reduced another 6 strokes that day, recorded a total of 19 under par 265 strokes, beating the pursuit of Nick Taylor (Canada) by 2 strokes and winning the championship.
Schaeffler, who added a win in 10 months after the Masters in April of last year, increased his PGA Tour career to five wins and also held a prize money of 3.6 million dollars (approximately 4.6 billion won) in his hands. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), who maintained the world No. 1 until just before this tournament, tied for 32nd, giving up the world No. 1 spot to Schaeffler.
Kim Si-woo (28) tied for 23rd place with a total of 6 under par 278 strokes, Lee Gyeong-hoon (32) tied for 42nd place (2 under par 282 strokes), and Kim Joo-hyung (21) finished the tournament with a tie for 50th place (1 under par 283 strokes).