PGA East and West conquered, Kim Si-woo 3 wins

Kim Si-woo (26) won the American Express (PGA) Tour American Express at the PGA West (stadium course) in La Quinta, California, USA on the 25th (Korean time). Kim Si-woo recorded his third win in his career with a total of 23 under par. Kim Si-woo was tied for third in the first round, 6 under par, and then reduced 4 strokes in the second round to a tie for second. In the third round, he reduced 5 strokes again to become a tie for the lead. .

The stadium course designed by Pete Dai is famous for being difficult. When the Bob Hope Desert Classic (the predecessor of the current tournament) was held here in 1987, players started a sort of riot. Bernhard Langer complained, “It’s stupid,” and Raymond Floyd is “the course I want to spit on.”

The battlefield is also long, but there are many visually threatening obstacles. Green attack angle is also difficult. There is also a lake running alongside the fairway, and a bunker over 6m. Dai’s design intent was “to make the most difficult course in the world to reveal the greatness and discrimination of the PGA Tour players.”

The players disagree with Dai’s intentions. The players also petitioned the PGA tour, saying, “Please do not hold any more competitions on this course.” So, this course hasn’t been held for 30 years, but it wasn’t until 2016. Difficulty courses have become relatively easy over time. I am afraid that there will be another complaint about “too difficult”, so I make the setting easy. Even so, Kim Si-woo’s skill, having only 1 Eagle, 23 birdies, and 2 views in the fourth round, was dazzling.

Siwoo Kim has another relationship with Dai, who is called the’designer of the devil course’. In 2017, he reached the top of the’Fifth Major’ Players Championship at the Stadium Course in Sograss, Florida. The PGA Tour made the PGA Sawgrass in the east and the PGA West in the west as flagship courses in the 1980s. It is based on Eastern Small Grass, which opened in ’82, and the PGA West Stadium Course, which opened in ’86, is a sequel. Siwoo Kim won both the original and the sequel.

Small grass is also a difficult golf course. When it was first created in 1982, 9 players withdrew and 25 players in their 80s. A veteran scorer on the PGA Tour said it was “the worst score I’ve ever seen.” “We have to change the greens,” Tom Watson said. Can I carry a bulldozer?” he asked. Jerry Fate, who barely won the watery course, pushed Dai into the lake, saying, “You have to be beaten too.”

Die focuses on hole 17. It was because I thought that the 17th hall would set the drama that will appear on the last hole. Hole 17 is Island Green for both Sawgrass and PGA West. The shape is also similar. Kim Si-woo was in second place by hitting the 15th hole. They succeeded in two (2) on in the par 5 and 16 holes defended by a 6m deep bunker, leading them jointly. Also, he took the lead alone as a 17th hole birdie, nicknamed’Alcatraz’. After putting in a 6m distance buddy putt, he made an uppercut toward the sky.

Since winning the Players Championship in 2017, Kim Si-woo has suffered a lot. Last year, he hit 87 in the first round of the tournament. There was no ball going straight. I had severe back pain before the game, and I couldn’t walk properly after passing three holes.

Kim Si-woo, who hit 87, clenched her teeth. I learned from Butch Harman, who teaches a swing that is light on the body. Siwoo Kim liked, “I am not sick, so I can practice freely.” And Gear won the competition in one year. Last year’s first round 87 and the fourth round of this tournament were 64 shots, a whopping 23.

Kim Si-woo has a good sense of shot recently. On this day, the average drive shot distance was 305 yards, and the accuracy was 78.6%. The green hit rate was also 83.3%. The driver and the iron were sent straight throughout the competition. If you putt well, your grades are good, but in this competition, except for the second round, putt was also excellent.

Siwoo Kim has another relationship with this course. In December 2012, second year high school student Kim Si-woo passed the Q School held in this course as the youngest ever (17 years and 5 months). “I have a good memory, so I always played with confidence and I was able to win,” he said.

The PGA West has 108 holes on 6 courses. It was acquired last year by Shin-il Yoo, 69, chairman of Korea Industries. It is a prestigious golf course designed by Daiwa Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman. Chairman Yoo said, “I am very impressed that the Korean player won the first tournament after taking over last year. It is a prestigious course, so the reservations were full for two months after the competition.” Chairman Yoo also said, “The annual sales of the nine courses at PGA West and La Quinta Resort are $60 million. “It is very profitable for American courses.”

Sung Hojun Golf Reporter [email protected]