It’s Past Two Horn. “Baby Bear” Im Seong-jae (25, CJ Logistics) managed to rebound by reducing 11 strokes in a forced march of 27 holes a day.
Im Seong-jae played 27 holes at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course in Pontevedra Beach, Florida, USA on the 12th (Korean time). In the Players Championship (total prize money of 25 million dollars), which is called the ‘fifth major tournament’, some players were unable to complete the second round due to the pouring rain. This is why Lim Seong-jae continued the 27-hole forced march.
Im Seong-jae, who lost 3 strokes including 1 double bogey on the first day, could not reduce the number of strokes in the first half even in the 2nd round. He looked back, saying, “It was physically difficult to resume the game early in the morning with 9 holes left in the remaining game.” Still, the weather was better than the previous day, and there was less wind, so it was easy to play. Lim Seong-jae, who caught a birdie on the first hole of the second half (hole 10, par 4) and switched to under par for the first time in this tournament, gained momentum by catching a birdie in a row on hole 11 (par 5). He also said, “A birdie came out from the start and I didn’t lose my concentration until the end.”
Im Seong-jae, who caught 3 birdies without a bogey in the remainder of the 2nd round, recorded 9 birdies and 1 bogey in the following 3rd round, raising the ranking to a tie for 8th place (8 under par, 208 strokes). She is 6 strokes behind leader Scotty Scheffler (14 under par, 202 strokes). Lee Min-woo (12 under par, 204 strokes), the younger brother of Korean-American Lee Min-ji, who is active on the LPGA tour, is in second place by two strokes. 안전놀이터
A change in putting also had an effect on line birdie, but it was more helpful to have a shot that was basically satisfactory. Im Seong-jae looked back and said, “I felt a little stiff in my back during the first round, so I couldn’t swing flexibly.” Lim Seong-jae, who said, “Attaching a patch and loosening the muscles with a massage gun helped with a smooth swing,” explained, “Today (12th), the tee shot was fine, and I caught a lot of birdies because I followed the putt.”
In the 3rd round, when he was cruising, he saw less in the 8th hole (par 3), but his concentration in catching a birdie in the 9th hole (par 5) stood out. He said, “I shot a hybrid tee shot on the 8th hole, but went into the left bush and declared an unplayable ball. Still, I stopped the bad flow by blocking it with my view,” he said. “In the ninth hole, the third shot went up on the pine needles, so I hit it with the feeling of’Let’s put it (on the green) somehow’, but the contact went well. This shot is the best of the day” and laughed.
Kim Si-woo (28, CJ Logistics), who reduced 4 strokes that day, tied for 26th with 5 under par and 211 strokes.