'Comeback' Woods "16 Major Wins GO~"... What About World No.1 Thomas?

2020 Season First Major PGA Championship Victory Bid, Thomas and Rahm Compete for 'Number 1', Koepka Challenges '3 Consecutive Wins in 83 Years'

Tiger Woods is warming up during a practice round ahead of this season's first major, the PGA Championship. San Francisco, California, USA - Photo by Getty Images/Multibitz

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] The return of the 'Golf Emperor' Tiger Woods (USA) is here.

The PGA Championship (total prize money $11 million), opening on the night of the 6th (Korean time) at Harding Park TPC in San Francisco, California (Par 70, 7,234 yards), is especially the first major of this season. Originally scheduled for May, it was postponed by three months due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). World No. 1 Justin Thomas is aiming for his '4th win,' and defending champion Brooks Koepka (both USA) is challenging for a '3rd consecutive tournament win.'

▲ Woods "83 career wins + 16 majors" = Last April, he won the Masters, marking his 15th major victory, and in October, by winning the Zozo Championship included in the 2020 season, he reached Sam Snead's (USA) record of 82 career wins. He is on track to set the PGA Tour record for most wins (83 wins) while closing in just two wins behind Jack Nicklaus's (USA) record for most major wins (18 wins). It is welcome news that Harding Park, where he swept 4 wins including back-to-back victories in 1999-2000 and 2006-2007, is considered his 'winning stronghold.'

The problem is his physical condition. Although he finished tied for 9th at the Farmers Open in January as a warm-up, he felt back pain during the Genesis Invitational in February, causing him to consecutively miss top-tier matches such as the Arnold Palmer and The Players in March, and he only managed a tie for 40th place at last month's Memorial Tournament. There were also forecasts that "the weather, being chilly between 10 to 20 degrees Celsius, is unfavorable for Woods." However, Woods expressed confidence, saying "my shot feel is good" and "winning is the goal."

Justin Thomas is practicing ahead of this season's first major, the PGA Championship. San Francisco, California, USA = Getty Images / Multivitz

▲ Thomas vs Rahm "The battle for No. 1 continues" = Thomas is the strongest favorite to win. Following last October's The CJ Cup and January's Sentry Tournament, he secured his third win of the season on the 3rd at the World Golf Championships (WGC) FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Currently, he is aiming to sweep individual titles including most wins, money ranking No. 1 ($7,206,000), and FedEx Cup (PO) points ranking No. 1 (2,439 points).

'No. 2' Jon Rahm carries the pride of Spain. After winning the Memorial Tournament, he rose to world No. 1 as a Spanish player for the first time in 31 years since Seve Ballesteros in 1989, but soon lost the spot to Thomas, which was frustrating. The 'Top 5' including No. 3 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), No. 4 Webb Simpson, and No. 5 Dustin Johnson (both USA) all have the potential to reclaim No. 1 along with major wins. 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (USA) has also joined the fray.

Brooks Koepka is challenging a '3-peat in 83 years' at this season's first major, the PGA Championship.

▲ Koepka "Challenging 3 consecutive wins in 83 years" = Locally, the spotlight is on Koepka. He won by 2 strokes in 2018, and last year successfully defended his title with a 'wire-to-wire' lead from day one. This time, his target is the tournament's 3rd consecutive win for the first time in 83 years since Walter Hagen's 4 consecutive wins from 1924 to 1927. Across the four majors, this feat has only been achieved twice in the last 100 years, including Peter Thomson's 3 consecutive Open Championships (1954-1956).

The Korean contingent is led by Im Sung-jae (22), ranked 3rd in the PO rankings. After winning the Honda Classic in March and finishing 3rd at the Arnold Palmer, he was on the rise but has slowed down since COVID-19. An Byeong-hun (29, CJ Logistics), Kang Sung-hoon (33, CJ Logistics), and Kim Si-woo (25) are supporting him. The '18-year-old young gun' Kim Joo-hyung (18, CJ Logistics) received an invitation as a 'Top 100' world ranking player. Last month, he became the youngest winner on the Korean Tour (18 years and 21 days) at the Gunsan CC Open.

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