‘Rookie’ Kim Seong-hyeon (25, Shinhan Financial Group) sets out to reverse the atmosphere.

The U.S. Professional Golf (PGA) Tour Valspa Championship (total prize money of $8.1 million) to be held at the Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course (par 71, 7340 yards) in Palm Harbor, Florida, USA for four days from the 16th (local time) is the stage for the sortie. .

Kim Seong-hyun, who made his debut on the PGA Tour this season, participated in 16 tournaments and passed the cut in 11 tournaments.

He is a promising player who won the Korn Ferry Tour Rookie Award, the second part of the PGA Tour, last year. However, results are not coming out as expected. First of all, the process from tee to green is not smooth. This category is ranked 114th overall.

The decisive reason for the sluggishness is that the approach ability is 161st (-0.337). The good news is that it ranks 14th in average putts. Therefore, if only the short game performance around the green is improved, the FedEx Cup ranking, which is currently 59th, is expected to take off sufficiently. 메이저사이트

A large number of strong players are absent from this tournament. Among the world ranking ‘top 10’, only Justin Thomas (USA), who is ranked 10th, will participate. Among the top 20 players, Matt Fitzpatrick (England, 13th), Jordan Spieth (USA, 14th), and Sam Burns (USA, 15th) were named on the list.

Burns is a challenge for three consecutive wins in the tournament. If he succeeds in defending his title, he will be named as the first player to win three consecutive victories in a single tournament in 12 years on the PGA Tour since Steve Stricker (USA) of the John Deere Classic in 2009-2011.

In addition to Kim Seong-hyun, Korean players include Ahn Byeong-hoon (32) and Lee Gyeong-hun (32, CJ Logistics). Lee Kyung-hoon and Kim Seong-hyun were eliminated from the cut at the Players Championship, the previous ‘fifth major’.