'Comeback' Woods "PO Journey"... What About 'PO 1st Place' Thomas?

The Northern Trust Start, 70 Players in Round 2, Only 30 Advance in Round 3 'Survival Game', Final Champ Wins '17.8 Billion Won Jackpot'

Tiger Woods challenges the 'PGA Tour record for most wins (83 wins)' at the 'PO Round 1' The Northern Trust.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] The 'resurrected golf emperor' Tiger Woods (USA) has returned.

On the night of the 20th (Korean time), The Northern Trust (total prize money $9.5 million) will be held at Boston TPC in Norton, Massachusetts (par 71, 7,342 yards). Moreover, it is the first round of the PGA Tour Playoffs (PO). Out of 125 players, 70 will advance to the second round, the BMW Championship, and then only 30 will proceed to the final third round, the Tour Championship, in a 'survival game.' Top-ranked players including PO No. 1 Justin Thomas, No. 2 Collin Morikawa, and No. 3 Webb Simpson (all from the USA) are all participating.

▲ Woods "Will I make it to the third round?"= Currently ranked 49th in the PO, the second round is expected to be manageable. Naturally, it is advantageous to raise his ranking as much as possible. The PGA Tour significantly revised the PO system last year to grant 'stroke bonuses' such as 10-under par for the No. 1 seed immediately after the second round. The bonuses are applied differentially: 2nd place 8-under, 3rd place 7-under, 4th place 6-under, 5th place 5-under, 6th to 10th place 4-under, 11th to 15th place 3-under, 16th to 20th place 2-under, 21st to 25th place 1-under, and 26th to 30th place even par.

Besides the prize money from the first and second rounds, the player who wins the third round and becomes the PO champion hits the 'jackpot' of $15 million (17.8 billion KRW). Woods has experience winning the PO trophy twice, in 2007 and 2009. It is said that he is particularly strong in the PO. The motivation to challenge the PGA Tour record for most wins (83 wins) has been added. After finishing tied for 37th at the PGA Championship on the 10th, he expressed confidence, saying "I have enough competitiveness."

Justin Thomas has already embarked on his "4-win march" at The Northern Trust.

▲ Thomas vs Morikawa "PO No. 1 Competition"= Thomas is the strongest favorite to win. After sweeping three wins including last October's The CJ Cup, January's Sentry Tournament, and the recent World Golf Championships (WGC) FedEx St. Jude Invitational on the 3rd, he is aiming to sweep individual titles such as the money ranking No. 1 ($7.25 million). Having already secured the $2 million bonus awarded to the regular season PO No. 1, he is now pushing for a 'fourth win.'

Morikawa's record is formidable. On the 12th of last month, he caused a stir by defeating Thomas in a playoff at the Workday Charity Open, and with his PGA Championship victory, he quickly rose to the ranks of major champions. Another two-time winner, Simpson, is also aiming for the 'PO No. 1' title. Patrick Reed (USA) shares the same dream of defending his title. World No. 1 Jon Rahm (Spain) and No. 3 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) have also joined the competition for the win.

Im Sung-jae is aiming for his second win of the season at the Northern Trust.

▲ Im Sung-jae leads "The 5 K-Army Warriors"= Im Sung-jae is ranked 5th in the PO and earned points by winning his first PGA Tour title at the Honda Classic last March. After a downturn following the COVID-19 pandemic, he has entered revival mode with a tie for 9th at the Wyndham Championship which ended on the 17th. He recalls the thrilling experience of being the only rookie last year to reach the third round stage. Showing his hunter instinct, he said, "My shot feel has returned," and "I can achieve good results in the PO."

Ahn Byung-hoon (29) is 31st, Kang Sung-hoon (33) 61st, Kim Si-woo (25) 82nd, and Lee Kyung-hoon (29, all from CJ Logistics) start from 110th place. Kim Si-woo and Lee Kyung-hoon urgently need to secure tickets for the second round. The PO ranking is especially linked directly to astronomical bonuses totaling $60 million (71.1 billion KRW) immediately after the third round. The prize money is directly tied to performance: 2nd place $5 million, 3rd place $4 million, 10th place $830,000, 30th place $395,000, 50th place $161,000, 70th place $140,000, etc.

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