[Golf Topic] Shopli "Ready for the King of Kings Tournament"..."Tokyo Olympic Gold Medal Power"

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] ○…Xander Schauffele (photo) will participate in the first PGA Tour event of 2021, the Sentry Tournament of Champions (total prize money $8.2 million).

It is a "champion of champions" event where only last year's winners compete. It opens on the night of the 6th (Korean time) at the Plantation Course of Kapalua Resort on Maui Island, Hawaii (par 73, 7,596 yards). Although Schauffele has no wins this year, he earned a spot as the gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in August. Notably, he has been particularly strong in this tournament, finishing first in 2019, tied for second in 2020, and tied for fifth last year. He cheered, saying, "The Olympic gold medal was a bonus."

Meanwhile, world No. 3 Dustin Johnson (USA) will not participate this year. Having won twice before in 2013 and 2018, he will spend the first week of the new year in New York instead of Hawaii. World No. 1 Jon Rahm (Spain), No. 2 Collin Morikawa, No. 4 Patrick Cantlay, and No. 5 "Hulk" Bryson DeChambeau (all USA) are all set to compete. No. 9 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) will start his 2022 season on the 20th at the DP World Tour (European Tour) Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

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