Im Seong-jae, 23, put the first button in the men’s golf’War of the Stars’.
On the 26th (Korean time), Seongjae Lim won 4 under par 68 strokes in the first round of the World Golf Championship (WGC) Workday Championship (total prize money of $10.5 million) held at the Concession Golf Club (par 72) in Bradenton, Florida, USA. I wrote it down.
After finishing the first day of the tournament with a tie for 7th place behind Webb Simpson (USA) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) who jointly lead with a 6-under-par 66, Lim Seong-jae laid a bridgehead to compete for the championship.
The WGC Workday Championship is a special competition in which only 72 athletes, mainly among the top 50 players in the world ranking, compete for the winning prize of $1.82 million without a cut.
Most of the top players participated in it, and it was like a’war of the stars’.
Among the players within the 50th place in the world ranking, 48 participated, and all players within the 15th place in the world ranking were dispatched.
Lim Seong-jae skipped two competitions held in California, USA, and reserved strength for the’Florida Swing’ starting from this tournament.
‘Florida Swing’, which will be held consecutively in Florida, will lead to the Workday Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship and Honda Classic.
Among them, the Honda Classic is the promised land where Lim Sung-jae won his first victory in his life last year.
Lim Seong-jae, who took a rest and sharpened the shot, pulled out 6 birdies with a sharp iron shot.
In the concession golf club, where a sophisticated attack is more effective than a long hit, Lim Seong-jae hit the green at 77.8% and averaged 1.643 putts when hitting the green.
However, two views from the par 5 hole were unfortunate.
Im Seong-jae said, “Thanks to taking a break for two weeks and preparing well, I was able to get good grades in the first round,” he said.
Im Seong-jae, who evaluated the first concession golf club, “It’s a very difficult course, and it will be more difficult if there is a lot of wind,” said Im Seong-jae, “I was able to score a good score today because the wind isn’t blowing a lot and the pin location is not so difficult.” He said.
Simpson, number 9 in the world ranking, added 7 birdies with 1 bogie, and Fitzpatrick caught only 6 birdies without bogie.
Simpson, whose long-term focus on accurate shots and clever game management rather than long hitting power, expressed satisfaction, saying, “It is a course that suits my game style.”
Simpson won 2 wins last year and 7 wins in total. Simpson has not yet won this year.
Brooks Kepka, Billy Horschel, Kaven Keithner (above the United States), and Sergio Garcia (Spain) hit a 5-under-par 67 to chase the lead group with one stroke.
Defending champion Patrick Reed (USA) tied for 7th with Sungjae Lim.
World ranking 2nd place Yon Lam (Spain) and’runner-up expert’ Tony Pinau (USA) also joined the group 7th with 4 under par 68 strokes like Lim Sung-jae and Reed.
Kim Chan (31), a Korean-American who plays in Japan, was tied for 25th with a 1-under par 71, but Lee Min-woo (23), a Korean-American, was sluggish with a 2-over par 74.
Kim Chan won the Japan Professional Golf Tour (JGTO), and Lee Min Woo Lee won the right to participate in this tournament with the highest ranking in the European Professional Golf Tour.
Dustin Johnson (USA), the world’s No. 1 player, and Bryson Dishambo (USA), the single winner of the University Championships held at the course in 2015, drew attention with a 5-over par 77 strokes.
Johnson and DeChambo, top hitters on the PGA Tour, lost at-bats mainly due to tee shot mistakes.
Matthew Wolfe (USA) suffered from an 11-over par 83 hitting with 1 quadruple, 1 triple, and 2 double bogies.
/yunhap news