Lim Seong-jae (25), who is strong on difficult courses, passes the infamous bear trap without difficulty. Bear Trap is the 15th to 17th hole of the PGA National Champion Course (par 70) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA. Among the PGA Tour courses, it appears without fail when choosing the most difficult three-holes in a row. All three holes are covered with water, so the sad ‘fondant’ scene comes out without a break. According to PGA Tour data compiled from 2007, Ryan Farmer (USA), who has won 4 tours, missed 19 pitches, making it the biggest victim of bear traps. Palmer, who has played the course every year except twice since 2009, has lost a total of 44 on three holes.
On the other hand, Im Seong-jae is 4th overall in this category with 14 rounds that passed through the bear trap without dropping into the water. In the first round of the Honda Classic (total prize money: $8.4 million) held at the PGA National Champion Course on the 24th (Korean time), Lim Seong-jae crossed the bear trap without losing the ball. He increased the record to 15 times, narrowing the gap with the first place record (18 times) held by veteran Jim Furyk (USA).
In hole 15 (par 3), which is all water from right in front of the teeing area to the green, Im Seong-jae sent his tee shot to a safe spot and caught par. However, the tee shot was a bit short, and the atmosphere changed immediately by putting a formidable par putt in hole 17 (par 3), which went to the rough between the green and the water. Finishing with a 3m birdie putt on the 18th hole (par 5), Lim Seong-jae added 3 birdies in the first half and took a light step with a 3 under par 67 strokes. He is tied for sixth place, two strokes behind Billy Horschel (USA) and Joseph Bramlett (USA), who are joint leaders in 5 under par 메이저사이트. Im Seong-jae, who enjoyed the thrill of winning the PGA Tour for the first time on this course in this tournament in March 2020, returned to the top of the Honda Classic for the first time in three years and raised expectations for three tour wins in 16 months. Im Seong-jae, who picked up his second tour win in October 2021, is moving fast toward his first win of the season by entering the top 10 in two of the three tournaments he has recently participated in. Before the competition “I feel more confident when I stand in the teeing area. Lim Seong-jae, who said, “If you play with a strategy to protect, you can get good results,” said after the game that day, “It worked out well overall. He had a few crises, but he was able to save well. In the second half, it was difficult because of the wind, but he finished well, so it’s good.”
Im Seong-jae has the highest world ranking (18th) among the players participating in this tournament. Since the previous tournament, the Genesis Invitational and next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, are tournaments with large prize money, most of the strong players skip the Honda Classic in the middle and take a break.
Kim Seong-hyun is tied for 14th with a 2 under par 68 strokes. When the tee shot on the 17th hole hit the water’s edge, Kim Seong-hyun took off his right shoe and sock and tried a ‘barefoot shot’ with one foot dipped in the water. He kept the par by putting the dropped ball on the pin 3m.
Twin players born in 2000 competed together in this competition. Pearson Cudi, who came out as an invited player, and Parker Cudi, who won the right to participate through the Monday preliminary round. The brother, who plays on the PGA Lower Tour, made headlines because he was the grandson of 1971 Masters winner Charles Cudi. While Pearson tied for third place with a 4-under par, Parker fell behind in the top 100 with a 4-over par.