Im Seong-jae looking at the green slope.Im Seong-jae (24) tied for 8th in the Century Tournament of Champions (total prize money of $8.2 million) in the New Year’s opening game of the PGA Tour.
In the final round of the tournament held at the Kapalua Plantation Course (par 73) in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii, USA on the 10th (Korean time), Im Seong-jae hit a 4-under par 69 with 5 birdies and 1 bogey.
Im Seong-jae, who finished the game for four days with a total of 24 under par 268, did not achieve the expected comeback victory, but finished the first tournament of the new year with a top 10 finish. Im Seong-jae batted 60 at-bats for four days in a row.
Seongjae Lim, who participated in this tournament for the second time following last year, was ranked in the top 10 for the second year in a row following a tie for fifth place last year in this tournament, where only the winners of the previous year’s PGA Tour tournament can participate.
He also won a modest prize of $217,500.
Im Seong-jae, who was tied for 4th by 6 strokes in the joint lead group by catching an eagle on the 18th hole in the 3rd round, shot a sharp shot in the final round, but his putt was not as good as the previous day, leaving a disappointment.
The number of putts on the green hit in the third round was 1.43, soared to 1.86 on that day. There was also a shot error on the way to the green.
However, he made a mistake on the approach shot on the 18th hole (par 5) and put in an 8m birdie putt, so the finish was neat.
Im Seong-jae said, “I made a lot of stupid mistakes in the beginning and it was a bit disappointing that I couldn’t get on the mood.
Si-woo Kim (27), who cut three strokes, finished the tournament in a tie for 23rd (17-under-par 275).
Lee Kyung-hoon (31), who first appeared in this competition, finished only 33rd (13-under-par 279). Kyung-hoon Lee cut 6 strokes that day, but he could not overcome the burden of writing down the number of strokes in his 70s in the first and second rounds.
Cameron Smith’s tee shot.The trophy was won by Cameron Smith (Australia), who set the PGA Tour record for most under par with a total of 34 under par 258 in four rounds.
The previous record for most under par on the PGA Tour was 31 under par by Ernie Els of South Africa in 2003.
Smith, who beat World No. 1 Jon Lam (Spain) by one stroke, climbed to the top of his four career victories on the PGA Tour.
He won two of his previous three wins at the Zurich Classic, a two-man team play competition. The most recent championship was the Zurich Classic, which he competed with Marc Leishman (Australia) in April last year.
The other win was at the 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii. That’s two wins in Hawaii alone.
In the 2019 Presidents Cup, there is a relationship between him and Im Seong-jae in a foursome match.
Smith and Lam, who took the lead in the final round, played a breathtaking match reminiscent of match play.
If you chase, you run away, and if you run away, you chase after you, and the match was decided only on the 18th hole (par 5).
Ram caught the birdie first, but Smith put a 2m birdie putt to put an end to the game.
Smith shot an 8-under 65 without a bogey, while Ram caught seven birdies, reducing the number by seven.
One birdie difference divided the game.
Smith, who received the prize money of $1476,000, said, “It may sound obvious, but I focused on each shot. My goal was to be 35-under.
Ram missed the championship, but maintained his world No. 1 position. Ram said, “It’s a bit of a bittersweet feeling,” and he praised Smith’s performance.
Matt Jones (Australia), who swept two eagles and eight birdies, finished third (32-under 260).
Last season’s FedEx Cup playoff champion Patrick Cantlay (USA) placed 4th (26 under par 266), and world ranking 2nd ranked Colin Morikawa (USA) tied for 5th (25 under par 267) with Justin Thomas (USA). each occupied
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