Challenge for 2 Consecutive Wins at Woori Financial Championship
Playing with Yoon Sang-pil and Lee Jung-hwan in 1R
Sang-hyun Park, Bi-o Kim, Chan-min Jung, and Yu-bin Jang Join
Im Sung-jae, who is active on the PGA Tour, will appear on the domestic stage for the first time in six months.
He will compete in the Woori Financial Championship (total prize money 1.5 billion KRW) of the Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour, which opens on the 25th at Ferrum Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 7,232 yards). He enters as the defending champion. He claimed the title at this tournament held last May. This is his second KPGA Tour win following the 2019 Genesis Championship. Im Sung-jae will greet domestic golf fans for the first time since the Genesis Championship last October.
If he wins, he will successfully defend his title for the first time in his career. Although he has won twice each on the PGA Tour and the Web.com (now Korn Ferry) Tour, he has never achieved back-to-back victories. Im Sung-jae is sponsored by Woori Financial Group. He was scheduled to participate in this tournament when it was first held in 2022, but had to withdraw due to contracting COVID-19 just before the event. He lifted the trophy on his second attempt. Afterwards, he also competed in the Genesis Championship, leading through the first three rounds but ultimately losing in a playoff on the final day to Park Sang-hyun.
Im Sung-jae missed the cut at the season's first major, the Masters, but performed well with a tie for 12th place at the RBC Heritage, which concluded on the 21st, before returning home. In the first-round pairing announced on the 23rd, he will play alongside Yoon Sang-pil and Lee Jung-hwan. He said, "My goal is obviously to win. I played in this tournament last year, so I am familiar with the course and atmosphere," adding, "I will do my best throughout the four days to achieve a good result by winning."
Yoon Sang-pil, the winner of the season-opening DB Insurance Promy Open, aims for his second victory of the season. Lee Jung-hwan, who finished third in both tournaments held this year, is a dark horse. Also on the entry list are Park Sang-hyun, Kim Bi-o, Jung Chan-min, Jang Yu-bin, Cho Woo-young, Seo Yo-seop, and Jang Hee-min, the inaugural champion of this tournament. Ko Gun-taek, last week's KPGA Founders Cup champion, will not participate due to competing in a Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) event.
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