Lim Seong-jae (25, CJ Logistics), who won two wins on the PGA Tour, appears in a domestic tournament after a long time. It is the first time in about 3 years and 7 months since the Genesis Championship in October 2019 that Im Seong-jae will participate in a domestic competition.
Lim Seong-jae will participate in the Woori Financial Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won) held at the East and West courses (par 72, 7232 yards) of the Ferrum Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do for four days from the 11th to the 14th.
He is ranked 18th in the men’s golf world rankings, the highest among Korean players. In the 2022-2023 season, he participated in 17 PGA Tour events and passed the cut in 16 events, showing steady performance. In particular, with his stable performance, he was named in the season’s ‘Top 10’ seven times, including a tie for 8th at the Wells Fargo Championship last week. However, he has yet to report a win this season. Will Lim Seong-jae, who won his first domestic championship at the Genesis Championship in 2019, achieve his second domestic win in this tournament after 3 years and 7 months?
This tournament, along with the 66th KPGA Championship with A-ONE CC and the Genesis Championship, is the tournament with the most prize money on the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour this year. The winner will receive a prize of 300 million won, a seed for two years, and 1,000 Genesis points. As a result, top players in Korea are expected to participate and compete fiercely for the championship trophy.
Chan-min Jeong (24, CJ Logistics), the ‘Korean Hulk’ who announced the birth of a ‘star golfer’ by decorating his first career victory with ‘Wire to Wire’ at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open last weekend, is challenging to win two consecutive championships. Jeong Chan-min, who is equipped with three factors, not only proven long hitting power, but also shot accuracy and putting, which were cited as weaknesses, clashes with Lim Seong-jae. Jung Chan-min is in fourth place with a 67.3 point difference to Kim Dong-min (25, NH Nonghyup Bank), who is the first in Genesis points. Moreover, if Jung Chan-min, who is ranked first in the Genesis prize money rankings, wins this tournament, he can rise to first in both the ‘Genesis points and prize money rankings’ regardless of the performance of other players.
Along with this, Jang Hee-min (21, DB Insurance), the ‘defending champion’ of this tournament, which was founded last year, will go on a two-game losing streak. Jang Hee-min said, “The ‘Woori Financial Championship’, which I participate in as a ‘defending champion’, is the most important competition this year. I will play with confidence because it is a tournament where I have experienced winning. I will do my best to defend the title.”
Along with Lim Seong-jae, amateurs Jo Woo-young (22, Woori Financial Group) and Jang Yu-bin (21), who will compete as national representatives for the Hangzhou Asian Games in September, also jumped into the championship competition. Jo Woo-young recorded her first amateur championship in 10 years at the Golfzon Open held last month, and tied for 8th at the Maekyung Open last week. Jang Yoo-bin, who won the opening game of the KPGA Srixon Tour, is also on the rise, ranking in the top 10 for two consecutive matches, including a tie for 5th in the Golfzon Open and a tie for 8th in the Maekyung Open.메이저사이트
It is also worth watching the performance of Kim Dong-min, who is currently ranked 1st in Genesis points. Attention is focusing on whether Kim Dong-min, who is continuing a good trend by winning runner-up at the Golfzon Open last month, will be able to succeed in defending the top spot in Genesis points by winning this tournament.