Im Sungjae "This time the target is the 5th Major~"... World No.1 McIlroy 'Title Defense'

The Players Championship Opens on the Night of the 12th, Featuring "Number 2" Jon Rahm and the Entire "Top 5" Lineup

'PO Ranking No.1' Im Sung-jae (left) challenges to secure his 'second win' at The Players Championship.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Victory → 3rd place → What's next?"

'Honda Classic Champ' Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics)'s next target is The Players Championship (total prize money $15 million), which opens on the night of the 12th (Korean time) at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA (par 72, 7,189 yards). This tournament boasts a special status as the '5th Major' on the PGA Tour. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is defending his title, and No. 2 Jon Rahm (Spain), No. 3 Brooks Koepka, No. 4 Justin Thomas, and No. 5 Dustin Johnson (all from the USA) are all participating.

Im Sung-jae competed in back-to-back winning battles with a victory at the Honda Classic that ended on the 2nd and a 3rd place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the 9th. It is noteworthy that both tournaments were played on tough courses. TPC Sawgrass is also known for its challenging spots, including the infamous '17th hole of death.' In the 2020 season, across 14 tournaments, Im averaged 303.20 yards in driving distance, had a greens in regulation rate of 68.62% with his iron shots, and especially his 'stingy putting' averaging 1.72 putts per hole showed great effectiveness.

Including one win, he has entered the 'Top 10' five times. Although it is still early in the season, he has risen to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup (PO) points ranking with 1,458 points. His prize money ranking is 2nd with $3,862,000. For Im Sung-jae, the winner's prize of $2.7 million (32.5 billion KRW) at this tournament, which is the largest on the PGA Tour, is welcome news. It directly fuels the competition for the top prize money. Along with Gary Woodland and Bryson DeChambeau (both USA), he will start the marathon at 8:13 PM from the 10th hole (par 4).

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy has begun his title defense at The Players Championship, known as the "fifth major."

McIlroy is the strongest favorite to win. Last year, he swept three victories and was named 'Player of the Year.' In November, he secured an early win by defeating Xander Schauffele (USA) in a playoff at the HSBC Champions, part of the World Golf Championships (WGC) series included in the 2020 season. Despite entering the top 5 in all six previous tournaments, he lacks the number of wins. He is aiming for a historic feat as the first player in the 46-year history of this tournament, established in 1974, to win back-to-back titles.

Rahm's performance is formidable. After tying for 3rd place at last month's Mexico Championship, he conserved energy. Koepka seems to be struggling to adjust his shot feel in real competition after knee surgery. Experts have named Thomas as another contender. He is already hunting for his third win following The CJ Cup held in Korea last October and the Sentry Tournament in January. Currently, he leads the prize money list with $4,215,000, and Im Sung-jae's pursuit serves as motivation.

Past champions such as Ricky Fowler (USA) in 2015, Jason Day (Australia) in 2016, and Webb Simpson (USA) in 2018 have joined the competition for the title. Korea is represented by Kang Sung-hoon (33), An Byeong-hun (29), Lee Kyoung-hoon (29), and Kim Si-woo (25, all CJ Logistics). Kim Si-woo is notably the 2017 champion. This is a good opportunity for him to break out of a slump where he missed the cut six times in his last eight tournaments. He recalls the thrilling memory of adding 3 under par on the final day to achieve a 3-stroke victory.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.