“I want to hit it stably like the 3rd round while enjoying the noisy things. Im Seong-jae (25. CJ Logistics), who tied for 6th place in the 3rd round of
the PGA Tour WM Phoenix Open (total prize money of 20 million dollars), had an interview with the PGA after the match.
In the third round of the tournament held at TPC Scottsdale (par 71, 7261 yards) in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA on the 12th (Korean time), Lim Seong-jae recorded 4 under par 67 with 5 birdies and 1 bogey.
With an interim total of 9 under par 204 strokes, he starts the final round in a tie for 6th with Tyrell Hatton (England), Jason Day (Australia), Rickie Fowler, and Zander Chopley (above USA). With a 13-under 200 stroke, he is 4 strokes behind Scotty Scheffler (USA), who is in first place alone.
Lim Seong-jae, who made birdies in all three par 5 holes that day, said, “I had a good tee shot, but I missed a lot of the fairway in the beginning, so I couldn’t get many chances when I hit the second shot.” The weaker it is, the easier it is to attack. Especially in par 5, I made two-on five times, so the par 5 attack was very good.”
He, who had been tied for 4th until the second round was postponed the previous day, fell to 9th place with consecutive bogeys in the game resumed in cold weather, but showed signs of recovery in the 3rd round. “Yesterday, everything went well, including putting, until the replay, but as soon as I started today, I hit bogey three times in a row and the flow was not good.” It is big that I made a lot of misses because this did not come out.” 메이저사이트
Im Seong-jae has two wins on the PGA Tour, and after winning the Shriners Children’s Open in October 2021, he has not added a win for a year and four months. He participated in seven competitions in the 2022-2023 season and achieved top 10 twice, including the Shriners Children’s Open (7th place) in October last year and the Farmers Insurance Open (joint 4th place) last month.
He is the only Korean player who participated in this tournament to be in the top 10. It is worth aiming for a come-from-behind victory by 4 strokes with the sole leader, Scotty Scheffler (13 under par, 200 strokes). With the determination to go to the final round, “I have been doing well for three days. The course here is not very windy, but it seems to be blowing a lot this year. I don’t know what the weather will be like tomorrow, but I hope I can hit it stably like the 3rd round.”
It is difficult for players to focus on the atmosphere of the WM Phoenix Open, a ‘liberation zone for golf’ where there are many spectators and drinking and loud singing are allowed. Regarding this, “It is true that it is noisy, but this tournament is famous for being noisy. Playing while enjoying it will help mentally,” he said.