Lim Seong-jae is taking a tee shot as a driver in the 13th hole. AFP Yonhap News
Lim Seong-jae, 23, took a chance to win the first competition in the new year. It was held at the US Pro Golf (PGA) Tour Sentry Tournament of Champions (total prize money of $6.7 million) held at the Kapalua Plantation Course (par 73, 7474 yards) in Maui, Hawaii, USA on the 10th (Korean time).
In the third round of the tournament, Im Seong-jae tied 1 Eagle and 4 birdies together and hit a 6-under-par 67. He tied for fifth place with 202 strokes in the middle of 17 under par. Harris English (32) and Ryan Palmer (45), who formed a joint lead group by striking 21 under par, are in a situation where they can fully aim for a reversal in the final 4 rounds.
The Century Tournament of Champions is a’Wang-jung-Wang’ in which only the champions of the previous year’s PGA Tour participated. As last year’s tour was reduced due to a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), this year’s tournament was also invited to tour championship participants in the 2019-2020 season.
Last year’s Honda Classic winner, Lim Seong-jae, also shone among the champions. Lim Seong-jae, who was tied for sixth until the second round, put a 7m eagle putt on the 5th hole (par 5) and started. A bogie came out on the 8th hole (par 3), but immediately recovered as a birdie at the 9th hole (par 5) and continued the upward trend. Im Seong-jae, who caught three birdies in a row at the 14th hole (par 4), the 15th hole (par 5) and the 16th hole (par 4), ended up with a birdie on the 18th hole (par 5), raising the rankings significantly.
Defending champion Justin Thomas (28, USA) cut five strokes only in the third round and tied for fifth place with Lim Sung-jae, but had to bow his head in front of the microphone. Inappropriate expressions casually spoken during the game was a problem. Thomas, who missed the 2m-long wave pat on hole 4 (par 4), spit out a word containing homophobia (faggot), which was broadcast through a broadcast microphone. In the United States, it is often used like abusive language, but it is an expression that can be controversial enough because it contains a demeaning meaning of gay men.
Thomas realized that the situation was wrong at the time through social media and so on only after completing the round. “It cannot be forgiven. I am an adult and I have no reason to say that, but unfortunately I did it. I’m really sorry,” he said over and over again. PGA Tour said in a statement, “As Thomas said after the round, we agree that it is difficult to accept Thomas’ comments.”
Dustin Johnson (37, USA), the world’s No. 1 ranking player, recorded a total of 14 under pars on three days, and tied for tenth. Bryson DeChambo (28, USA), a’strong long hitter’, failed to keep up with the uptrend in the early stages and committed a bogie at the 18th hole, ending a total of 13 under par at 16th place.
Reporter Jo Hee-chan [email protected]
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