'Wangjungwangjeon' TOC Final Day 5-Under Par 'Strong Performance'
Ram Comes from Behind to Win, Lee Kyung-hoon 7th, Im Sung-jae 13th
Kim Joo-hyung is taking his second shot on the 9th hole on the final day of the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Hawaii=AFP·Yonhap News
‘PGA star attraction’ Kim Joo-hyung finished in the ‘Top 5’.
On the 8th (local time), Kim Joo-hyung finished tied for 5th place (22-under 270) by shooting 5-under on the final day at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (TOC, total prize money $15 million), the first event of the 2022/2023 PGA Tour season, held at Kapalua Plantation Course (Par 73, 7,596 yards) on Maui Island, Hawaii, USA.
This is a ‘champion of champions’ event featuring only 39 world-class players, including last season’s winners. Although ‘Number 1’ Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) did not participate, 17 of the top 20 players in the world rankings competed, making for a fierce battle.
Starting tied for 5th place, 7 strokes behind the leader, Kim Joo-hyung collected six birdies and one bogey. In the front nine, he exchanged one birdie for one bogey and struggled to lower his score. He changed the momentum with a birdie on the 12th hole (Par 4), then fired three consecutive birdies from the 14th to 16th holes. He added another birdie on the final 18th hole (Par 5) to finish the tournament on a high note. This marks his second ‘Top 5’ finish of the 2022/2023 season since winning the Shriners Children’s Open last October.
Jon Rahm (Spain) surged with a 10-under round to complete a 7-stroke come-from-behind victory (27-under 265). This is his eighth career win, coming eight months after the Mexico Open last May, with a winner’s prize of $2.7 million (approximately 3.4 billion KRW). Collin Morikawa (USA), who led for three consecutive days, faltered with a 1-under round and slipped to 2nd place (25-under 267). Max Homa and Tom Hoge (both USA) tied for 3rd place (23-under 269). World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler (USA) finished tied for 7th (21-under 271). He had a chance to reclaim the No. 1 world ranking by finishing in the ‘Top 3’ but missed the opportunity.
From Korea, Lee Kyung-hoon shot 6-under to jump to a tie for 7th place. Im Sung-jae improved by 3 strokes but dropped to a tie for 13th place (19-under 273). 2016 champion Jordan Spieth tied for 13th, and 2017 and 2020 champion Justin Thomas (both USA) tied for 25th place (15-under 277). The PGA Tour continues on the 12th at the Sony Open (total prize money $7.9 million) held at Waialae Country Club (Par 70, 7,044 yards) in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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