'2-Win March' Im Sung-jae "Since I'm in Hawaii"... What About Sentry Tournament Champion Smith?

First 'Full Field' Sony Open Victory Bid of the New Year, Smith's Challenge for Second Consecutive Win, Korea Joins with Kim Siwoo and Lee Kyounghoon

'Shriners Champ' Im Sung-jae is once again aiming for his second victory at the Sony Open.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Since I'm already in Hawaii."

‘Shriners Champ’ Im Sung-jae (24) is once again challenging for his second win. The Sony Open (total prize money $7.5 million), which opens on the night of the 13th (Korean time) at Waialae Golf Club in Honolulu, Hawaii (par 70, 7,044 yards), is the first full-field stage of the PGA Tour this year. The Sentry Tournament, which ended on the 10th, was a ‘champion of champions’ event featuring only last year’s winners. Cameron Smith (Australia) is aiming for ‘back-to-back wins’.

Im Sung-jae started 2022 well, finishing tied for 8th at the Sentry Tournament. He combined a maximum drive of 392 yards with a fairway hit rate of 71.67% and a greens in regulation rate of 84.72%, showing solid accuracy, though his average of 1.69 greens played per hole was somewhat lacking. It is encouraging that he has sufficiently tuned his shot feel in real competition. Experts have ranked him as the ‘5th favorite to win.’ They noted that "in his previous three appearances, he recorded an average score of 67.83 without missing the cut."

While the Plantation course at the Sentry Tournament is a ‘long hitter’s paradise,’ the Waialae course is especially short in length but has narrow fairways, favoring ‘iron men.’ Im Sung-jae also boasts the 12th best iron shot accuracy on the PGA Tour this season (76.39%). He expressed his fighting spirit, saying, "I am focusing on 3 to 4-meter mid-range putts." Korea will be represented by Kim Si-woo (27), Lee Kyung-hoon (31), and Kang Sung-hoon (35, all from CJ Logistics).

Cameron Smith is aiming for 'back-to-back wins' at the Sony Open.

World No. 1 Jon Rahm (Spain), Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Schauffele (all from the USA) are all absent, increasing the chances of victory. It seems that after the Sentry Tournament, players have started a ‘Hawaii vacation’ with their families. Smith is the biggest threat. When he won the Sentry Tournament, he set the PGA Tour record for most under par (34 under), and he has been particularly strong at Waialae, including his 2020 victory.

Defending champion Kevin Na is attempting to defend his title for the first time in seven years since Jimmy Walker (2014-2015), and Chris Kirk dreams of revenge after finishing tied for 2nd last year. Webb Simpson (USA) and Mark Leishman have joined the competition for the win. Matt Jones (Australia) is a dark horse. On the final day of the Sentry Tournament, he shot an incredible 12 under par, including two eagles, to jump to 3rd place. The Japanese contingent, led by ‘Masters Champion’ Hideki Matsuyama, is appearing in large numbers.

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