“There are many big tournaments in the second half of the PGA Tour. I want to carry on the good vibes from this win and advance to the Tour Championship.”
Lim Seong-jae (25) said this after winning a stunning victory at the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour Woori Finance Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won) hosted by Woori Finance, a sub-sponsor.
In the final 4th round of the tournament held at the Ferrum Club (par 72) in Yeoju-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 14th, Im Seong-jae scored 4 under par 68 with 1 eagle, 4 birdies and 2 bogeys. Im Seong-jae, who recorded a final total of 10 under par 278 strokes, beat Lee Jun-seok (35, Australia) by one stroke and climbed to the top.
Lim Seong-jae, who arrived in Korea on the 9th after tying for 8th place at the Wells Fargo Championship, a “special tournament” on the PGA Tour, had a hard time adapting to the jet lag and unfamiliar turf. In particular, it was even more difficult from the third round the previous day because of the time difference. Lim Seong-jae said, “In fact, from the 3rd round until today, I endured with mental strength. He thought he was far from winning because he made a mistake in the first half of the day, but when he looked at the scoreboard in the middle, he realized that Lee Jun-seok, the leader, was in the lead, and he played with the mindset of trying to follow as much as possible.”
He said that catching an eagle on the 12th hole was the driving force. Im Seong-jae made bogeys on holes 6 (par 4) and 8 (par 3), and seemed to be getting away from the championship competition, but after Choi Jin-ho (39), who was the leader, collapsed, he caught birdie-eagle-birdie from holes 11 to 13, rose to the championship.
In the 12th hole (par 5), he hit the second shot with the 3-wood at a distance of 3.2m from the pin, and after catching this eagle putt, he tied for the lead with Lee Jun-seok until the 17th hole and entered the final hole 18 (par 5). In the 18th hole, the second shot from the rough fell into a small bunker in front of the green, leaving a difficult situation with a distance of 50m to the pin.
Im Seong-jae said, “When I fell into the bunker, I thought, ‘It will be difficult to win. The 50m bunker shot is the most difficult distance on the PGA Tour. I practiced a lot of long-distance bunkers in the United States, so I was able to do well by making use of that feeling.”
Im Seong-jae made this bunker shot with a pitching wedge rather than a sand wedge, saying, “The longer the club, the thicker the shot, the longer the distance. He said, “If I had shot a bunker shot with a sand wedge, I had to stick it to the pin accurately, but it was difficult because I was in a tense situation. He explained the situation at the time, saying, “I shot with a pitching wedge thinking that I should only stick it within five shots, but surprisingly it stuck very well.”
Im Seong-jae returned to Korea to participate in this tournament last year, but was diagnosed with Corona 19 just before the first round, so he withdrew and was unable to participate in the PGA Championship, a major men’s golf tournament held the following week. Because he had to quarantine for 10 days. He said, “At that time, I was very depressed because I couldn’t go to the most important major competitions and I couldn’t show a good performance in domestic competitions. However, he won this year, so the bad things that happened last year flew away,” he said with a smile.
Im Seong-jae being interviewed (Photo = Provided by KPGA)
Lim Seong-jae, who got married in December of last year and gave his wife the first trophy, said, “We have been on tour together for about five months, and she always helps me to focus on golf comfortably. Although the tour itself is difficult, I am very grateful that his wife is always by my side. If he continues to do well on the PGA Tour, I think his wife will be happy.”
Im Seong-jae leaves for the United States on the 15th and prepares for the PGA Championship, his second major tournament of the season. As it is a big tournament that only happens four times a year, I am very motivated. He smiled, saying, “I have to adjust to the time difference as soon as I go to the United States.” I hope he is in good shape. There is a difference in the feel of the swing when conditions fall, so I will do my best to overcome it quickly.”안전놀이터
He is hoping for a gold medal more than anyone else, who will participate as a national representative in the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September. In addition, the biggest goal is to advance to the Tour Championship for five consecutive years, where only the top 30 players on the PGA Tour in the 2022-23 season can participate.
Lim Seong-jae, a top-class player who has won two PGA Tour careers and is ranked 18th in the world rankings, said, “I don’t lack a long game, but I wish I could go 10 yards longer.” He added, “It is definitely important to go further in major competitions.”
Im Seong-jae said, “I do a lot of training, strength training, and balance exercises, but he has never done swing speed training yet. But if he wants to improve his world rankings in the future, I think he will have to do some speed training as well.”