“Rather than thinking about chasing an eight-stroke lead, if I enjoy each day and accumulate good scores, I think I can compete for the title.”
“It’s really hard to be in the top 30 every year, but I’m so happy to be here for five years in a row,” said Lim Sung-jae (CJ Logistics), who is making his fifth consecutive appearance at the Tour Championship, the season-ending event on the U.S. Professional Golf Association (PGA)온라인바카라 Tour, during an online video conference with Korean media on Wednesday night (Aug. 23). “The points were up in the air because of my mid-season performance, but I was able to achieve my goal by finishing in the top 10 in the playoffs.” Playing in the Tour Championship for the fifth consecutive year means five years of consistent results. His five appearances are the most ever by a South Korean player, surpassing Choi Kyung-joo’s four.
In 29 events this season, Lim has made the cut 23 times and finished in the top 10 nine times. He has 17 top-25s. But after winning the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour’s Woori Financial Championship in May, he returned to the PGA Tour and suffered an abrupt slump. He missed the cut five times in nine tournaments in the two months following the PGA Championship.
“I was tired after Korea, so my swing balance and shot feeling dropped, especially my accuracy off the tee,” Lim recalled, “but after recognizing the changes in my swing setup and making corrections, my shot feeling returned at the end of the season.”
Lim punched his ticket to the Tour Championship by finishing tied for 14th at the Wyndham Championship in August, the final event of the regular season, tied for sixth at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in the first round of the playoffs, and tied for seventh at the BMW Championship in the second round.
If the lack of a win this season is a blemish, hmmm. “Even though I didn’t win, I had nine top-10 finishes, so I think I did well enough,” Lim said, “I was worried because I lost a lot of my shot feeling in the middle of the season, but I’m glad I got it back quickly.”
After recording his first career PGA victory at the Honda Classic in February 2020, Lim added two more at the Shriners Hospitals Open in October 2021. At the time, he had hoped to reach three career wins sooner, but it has been slow in coming. “It would be nice to win sooner, but rather than thinking about that, I think I can win one day if I keep playing tournaments while maintaining my current feelings,” he said. “My putting hasn’t been good lately, but I’ve been in the top 10, and I think I can compete for the championship if I keep my putting up.”
Lim emphasized that he prefers to perform consistently rather than win. “It’s important to win, but I don’t think it’s good to have too many ups and downs after winning,” he said. “Of course, it’s good to have a steady performance after winning, but I like to play steadily rather than having ups and downs.” He added, “If you consistently finish in the top 10, you’re more recognized among players as a player who can play well and win at any time.”
The Tour Championship awards bonus strokes based on the FedExCup points standings accumulated during the season. World No. 1 Scottie Schauffler (USA) will begin round one at 10-under-par, while No. 17 Seong-Jae Lim will start at 2-under-par. Playing alongside him are No. 16 Joo Hyung Kim (Nike Golf) and No. 20 Si Woo Kim (CJ Logistics).
At last year’s event, Lim started at 4-under-par as the No. 10-ranked player and finished tied for second, one stroke off the lead. “It’s a course where you have to be patient,” said Lim. The fairways are tight and the rough is not very good, so I think the tee shot is the most important thing,” he said. “If you go for par on the difficult par-3s and stay in the fairway on the par-4s, there is not much danger around the green, so if you make a lot of birdie chances with your iron shots, you can do well.”
This is the first time that three South Koreans will be competing in the 30-player event. “I’m curious to see how the three of us will perform, as we seem to be mentally and technically up to par with the players from other countries,” said Lim, “and I hope we all do well.”
“It’s amazing that he joined the PGA Tour at the age of 20, and it’s even more amazing that he won two tournaments right away. He is already performing well at a young age, such as tying for second place in this year’s major, so I am looking forward to the future.” “I admire him even though he is a junior. It makes me realize that I need to keep working hard. I think we give each other strength.”
Lim will also compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games in September. He will be accompanied by Kim Si-woo and amateur national team members Jang Yubin and Cho Woo-young. “All four of us are in good shape, so if we manage well for a month, we should be able to win the team gold medal,” said Lim.
When asked what it would be like to top the Tour Championship and take home the $18 million first prize, Lim said, “It would be the best of my career because it would be the best of a season. It would be a great feeling,” he said, adding, “I don’t think I’d do anything with the $18 million right away, but I think I’d look at my bankbook and wonder.”
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