The 2023 US Professional Golf (PGA) Tour’s second ‘special tournament’ WM Phoenix Open (total prize money of 20 million dollars, 25 billion won) will be held on the 10th (Korean time) at the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course in Phoenix, Arizona, USA (par 71) starts in
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), No. 2 Scotty Scheffler (USA), and No. 3 Yon Lam (Spain) sortie together for the first time this year, and Korean men’s golf signs such as Kim Joo-hyung (21) and Lim Seong-jae (25) The players are also ready to jump into the championship competition.
The Phoenix Open is one of the 17 special events (including four major tournaments) that the PGA Tour mandates that top players compete starting this season. In order to receive the ‘Player Influence Program (PIP)’ bonus at the end of this year, you must participate in at least 16 out of 17 special competitions.
McIlroy took advantage of this rule and did not participate in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first special event this year. Five tournaments have been held this year, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which ended on the 7th, but he never competed. Instead, two weeks ago, he chose the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) Dubai Desert Classic as his first tournament of the year and won the championship, and will challenge for his first PGA Tour victory in the New Year at the Phoenix Open.
Schaeffler, who won his first win on the tour last year at this tournament, will defend his title, and Ram, who won three PGA Tour tournaments this year and won twice, is aiming for a total of 10 wins on the tour.
18 out of the top 20 players as well as the 1st to 3rd in the world rankings have completed their applications to participate, predicting a ‘War of the Stars’. Only World No. 4 Cameron Smith (Australia), who was permanently expelled from the PGA Tour due to the LIV golf transfer, and 8th place Will Jaratoris (USA), who took a break, were left out. 메이저놀이터
The Phoenix Open is famous as a “golf liberation zone,” where around 500,000 galleries enter each year to cheer and boo the players to their heart’s content while enjoying alcoholic beverages such as beer. The total prize money has more than doubled from last year’s $8.7 million to $20 million this year, and it has been upgraded to a ‘special level’ event, and it is expected that top-notch players will take part in a large number of competitions and will have more enthusiasm than ever before. The prize money for winning this tournament is 3.6 million dollars, which amounts to 4.5 billion won.
Among Korean players, Kim Joo-hyung is definitely the focus. Kim Joo-hyung, who skipped the Farmers Insurance Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after finishing tied for 6th at the American Express in January, when Ram won, moved to Phoenix early to prepare for the final round by digesting practice rounds. This is the first time Kim Joo-hyung, who is recording two wins on the PGA Tour, is participating in the Phoenix Open.
Lim Seong-jae, who took a break after tying for 4th place, a personal best in the 2022-2023 season, at the Farmers Insurance Open, and Kim Si-woo (27), winner of the Sony Open, which was the second tournament this year, also threw out their votes. Lee Gyeong-hoon (32), the runner-up in this competition in 2021, is also determined to shake off the regrets of two years ago.