Kim Joo-hyung (21) raised expectations for this season by climbing to the top 5 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (total prize money of 15 million dollars), the first tournament of the new year on the PGA Tour.
Kim Joo-hyung tied 6 birdies and 1 bogey in the final 4th round of the PGA Tour Sentry Tournament of Champions (total prize money 15 million dollars) held at the Kapalua Plantation Course (par 73) in Kapalua, Maui Island, Hawaii on the 9th (Korean time). He shot a 5-under-par 68 and finished in a tie for 5th with a final total of 22-under 270.
This tournament is no different from the ‘King of Kings’, where only players who won the PGA Tour last year or participated in the Tour Championship, the final match of the season, can participate. Kim Joo-hyung won two wins at the Wyndham Championship in August of last year and the Shriners Children’s Open in October, making his first appearance in this tournament.
‘The King of Kings’ whose status has changed… Last place prize money is 250 million won
Kim Joo-hyung, who started in a tie for 5th place, traded a bogey for a birdie until the 11th hole and was unable to reduce the number of strokes and was pushed out of the 10th place. However, he started by catching his first birdie after putting his second shot on the 12th hole (par 4) at a distance of 2m, and then made a spurt with only 5 birdies in the last 7 holes.
Lee Gyeong-hoon (32) reduced 6 strokes with 7 birdies and 1 bogey to rank in a tie for 7th place (21 under par, 271 strokes). Lim Seong-jae (25), who challenged for the top 10 with the team, only reduced 3 strokes and placed in a tie for 13th place (19 under par 273 strokes). He caught 7 birdies, but it was painful to commit 2 bogeys and 1 double bogey.
Designated as one of 17 special competitions against LIV golf, the total prize money for this tournament was set at 15 million dollars (approximately 18.7 billion won), nearly doubling from last year’s 8.2 million dollars (approximately 10.2 billion won). The winning prize money, which was $1.476 million (approximately 1.83 billion won) a year ago, also increased significantly to $2.7 million (approximately 3.36 billion won). Chad Raimi (USA), who stayed at the bottom, also won 201,000 dollars (approximately 250 million won), which was a prize he could only receive if he placed ninth last year.
Kim Joo-hyung, who tied for 5th place with JJ Spawn, split his prize money by 555,000 dollars (approximately 690 million won). Lee Kyung-hoon, tied for 7th, earned $368,750 (approximately 450 million won), and Lim Seong-jae, tied for 13th, earned $265,000 (approximately 330 million won). Winner John Rahm won 2.7 million dollars, and runner-up Colin Morikawa also earned 1.5 million dollars (approximately 1.86 billion won).
The ‘Korean Brothers’, on the rise, will move to Honolulu, Hawaii, where the Sony Open in Hawaii will be held for four days from the 13th to hunt for the first championship of the new year. In addition to Kim Joo-hyung, Lee Kyung-hoon, and Lim Seong-jae, ‘Tank’ Kyung-ju Choi (53), Kim Si-woo (28), An Byeong-hoon (32), and Kim Seong-hyeon (25) will compete at the Sony Open for the first time in 2023.
Morikawa’s ‘shock plaque’ collapsed again on the last day
The championship was won by John Rahm (Spain, 27 under par, 265 strokes), who played in the same group as Kim Joo-hyung. Ram added a win in eight months since the Mexico Open in May of last year, winning his eighth PGA Tour career. He also set the record for lifting seven consecutive PGA Tour trophies. Ram, who was tied for 5th place, 7 strokes behind leader Colin Morikawa (USA) until the 3rd round, pulled out 1 eagle and 9 birdies in the final round, driving 10 under par to create a stand-up electrode.
Morikawa, who started the game on the last day with a 6 stroke lead in 2nd place, seemed to be booking the championship by catching only 3 birdies until the 6th hole. Ram made a bogey on hole 1 (par 4) and was once behind Morikawa by 9 strokes. Afterwards, Ram accumulated birdies step by step and caught three consecutive birdies from holes 12 to 14 and chased after the lead. Then, after sending the second shot from the 15th hole (par 5) to a distance of about 3.5m, he succeeded in putting an eagle, and at the same time, Morikawa recorded the first bogey of the tournament at the 14th hole (par 4) and rose to the joint lead.스포츠토토
The match was decided on the 15th hole. In the 15th hole (par 5), Morikawa made the mistake of not putting the wedge shot on the green. A similar mistake continued in the 16th hole (par 4) that followed. At the same time, he committed three consecutive bogeys from holes 14 to 16, and was eventually pushed back by two strokes by Ram.
“Today was a crazy day,” Ram said in disbelief. As Ram walked down the fairway on hole 17, he looked at the scoreboard and realized he was the sole leader. At the same time, he said to the caddy next to him, “What is this?” and showed a dumbfounded look.
Morikawa became the ninth player in PGA Tour history to fail to keep a six-stroke gap and fail to win. He started the final round in 2021 with a five-stroke lead as well, but suffered a come-from-behind loss. Morikawa took his heart, saying, “It is a very painful result, but we will overcome it because it is still early in the season.”