PO 1st Johnson vs 2nd Rahm "Win to hit 17.8 billion KRW jackpot"... Korea's Im Sung-jae to compete

'PO Round 3' Tour Championship Opens Night of 4th, Johnson 10-Under 'Stroke Bonus', Rahm 8-Under, Im Sungjae Starts 4-Under in 9th Place

PO No. 1 Dustin Johnson is aiming to be the final champion at the 'PO 3rd round' Tour Championship.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Win and hit the $15 million (17.8 billion KRW) jackpot."

PO No.1 Dustin Johnson (USA) and No.2 Jon Rahm (Spain) are set to battle in the final "money war." The Tour Championship, opening on the night of the 4th (Korean time) at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia (Par 70, 7,280 yards), is the final third round of the PGA Tour Playoffs (PO). The two players fought an extended playoff on the final day of the second round BMW Championship, adding the character of a final showdown. Korea’s Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics) is watching for an opportunity.

▲ Johnson "10-under par start" = Johnson holds an advantage for now. This is due to the 'stroke bonus' effect newly introduced by the PGA Tour last year. After the second round, starting points are applied differentially according to the ranking: 1st seed starts at 10-under par, 2nd at 8-under, 3rd at 7-under, 4th at 6-under, 5th at 5-under, 6th to 10th at 4-under, 11th to 15th at 3-under, 16th to 20th at 2-under, 21st to 25th at 1-under, and 26th to 30th at even par. A whopping $15 million awaits.

Johnson secured the No.1 PO spot and world No.1 ranking in one fell swoop by winning the first round The Northern Trust on the 24th with an 11-shot victory (30-under par 254). Notably, he displayed tremendous firepower by shooting 11-under par on the second day, powered by a maximum drive of 327.2 yards. Instead of celebrating, he immediately moved to the second round battleground Olympia Fields in Chicago to focus on practice, showing his exceptional hunter instinct.

Yon Rahm, ranked 2nd in the PO, will challenge for his second consecutive win following the 2nd round at the Tour Championship 'PO Round 3'.

▲ Rahm "Hunting two rabbits" = For Rahm, the moment to claim the 'No.1' spot is especially coveted. Born in Barrika, Spain, he graduated from the prestigious golf school Arizona State University in the USA. He gained attention by winning the Ben Hogan Award, given to the best amateur, consecutively in 2015 and 2016. Turning pro in 2016, he caused a sensation by winning the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2017. He also swept six wins on the European Tour.

This year, Rahm took the spotlight by becoming the first Spanish player in 31 years since Seve Ballesteros (1989) to reach world No.1, following his Memorial Tournament win in June. He lost the No.1 spot to Justin Thomas (USA) on the 3rd, regained it on the 10th, and then lost it again to Johnson on the 24th. With the BMW Championship win and currently trailing Johnson by just 0.09 points, he is gearing up for a battle where money and honor are at stake.

Korea's Im Sung-jae will start the Tour Championship as the 9th seed in the 'PO 3rd round'.

▲ Thomas "A 3-shot gap is nothing" = No.3 seed Thomas (7-under par), No.4 Webb Simpson (6-under par), and No.5 Collin Morikawa (5-under par, all USA) are within striking distance. Last year, Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) started as the No.5 seed (5-under par) and overcame a 5-shot deficit to win. No.8 seed Xander Schauffele (USA) made headlines by shooting 6-under par on the first day, instantly taking the top of the leaderboard and neutralizing the 'stroke bonus' in just one day.

McIlroy’s title defense is uncertain. He declared, "My wife Erica is about to give birth to our daughter soon," and said, "I will leave immediately when the news comes." There is a possibility of withdrawal or quitting during the competition. Im Sung-jae starts as the No.9 seed (4-under par). It is important for him to raise his ranking as much as possible. The prize money is distributed as follows: 2nd place $5 million (590 million KRW), 3rd $4 million (474 million KRW), 10th $830,000 (98 million KRW), and 30th $395,000 (47 million KRW).

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