Sungjae Im Set to Compete in Paju This Week

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Sungjae Im, a member of the PGA Tour, is set to appear in Paju.

Starting on April 23, he will compete in the Woori Financial Championship, held over four days at the Valley and Seowon courses (par 71, 7,018 yards) of Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. This is the second KPGA Tour event of the season, following last week's opening event, the DB Insurance Promy Open.

A total of 144 players will participate in the Woori Financial Championship. After the second round, the top 60 players, including ties, will advance to the third round. The winner will receive a two-year exemption on the KPGA Tour (2027–2028) and 1,000 Genesis points. The total prize purse is KRW 1.5 billion, with the winner taking home KRW 300 million.

Sungjae Im challenges for his third win at the Woori Financial Championship. Photo by KPGA

This week's tournament is considered Sungjae Im's home ground. He captured the title at this event in 2023 and successfully defended it in 2024. However, his dream of winning three consecutive years came to an end last year when he missed the cut by one stroke.

Sungjae Im is determined to reclaim the top spot at his sponsor's event. Due to a right wrist injury, he joined the PGA Tour late and missed the cut at his first two events of the season, but he rebounded with a tie for fourth at the Valspar Championship. Although he has since remained in the middle to lower rankings in the next three tournaments and has yet to deliver a standout performance, he is aiming to turn things around on home soil in Korea.

“Last year, I finished the tournament with regrets, but this year I want to deliver a better performance,” said Sungjae Im. “Playing in front of Korean fans is always special. I will do my best to stay focused until the end and show my best game.”

Taehoon Lee, a Korean-Canadian player currently competing in LIV Golf, will be aiming for a second consecutive victory. He captured the trophy last year after a playoff and, starting this year, is also sponsored by Woori Financial Group, the tournament's main sponsor. “Defending the title is my biggest goal,” said Taehoon Lee. “I'm even more excited to play in the main sponsor's tournament and hope to reward everyone with a strong performance.”

This year's season opener winner, Lee Sanghyup, is aiming for back-to-back victories. Other notable participants include Lee Junghwan, who also competes on the DP World Tour; Hwang Junggon, who has seven career wins on domestic and international tours; and Cho Wooyoung, who won the Asian Tour Philippine Golf Championship in February.

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