The first Asian player to win in the four major men’s golf tournaments was Yang Yong-eun at the 2009 US Professional Golf (PGA) Championship.
Since then, major domination by Asian players has not come out for a while, but in 2021, Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) became the second Asian major champion wearing the Masters’’Green Jacket’.
Korean players are expected to perform well in the 87th Masters Tournament, which opens on the 6th at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
First, Im Seong-jae tied for second place after Dustin Johnson (USA) in the 2020 competition, and tied for eighth in last year’s competition.
In particular, Seong-jae Lim last year competed for the lead throughout the tournament, such as taking first place alone on the first day, and showed a strong appearance in the Masters.
Unlike other major tournaments, the Masters is held at the same venue, so Im Seong-jae’s high-ranking results can be expected this year as well.
Im Seong-jae said in an interview ahead of the tournament, “It’s been a dream since I was a child to wear a green jacket while watching the Masters.” showed up
Kim Joo-hyung, a rookie born in 2002 who is making his Masters debut this year, also stood at the center of the topic.
On the 4th, he played a practice round of 9 holes with Tiger Woods (USA), the ‘Emperor of Golf’, Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), former world No. 1, and Fred Couples (USA), winner of the 1992 Masters.
It was a scene that made Kim Joo-hyung’s presence on the tour realizable in that Woods did not practice with anyone before a major tournament.
In addition, Kim Joo-hyung, who practiced with world No. 1 and ‘defending champion’ Scotty Scheffler (USA), was invited to the official press conference of the tournament at 11:30 pm on the 4th in Korea time. Woods appears at the press conference right after Kim Joo-hyung. 스포츠토토
Kim Joo-hyung, who has not yet appeared in the Masters, has been selected as the subject of an official press conference where candidates for the championship, players who are at the center of the topic, and past winners of this tournament are invited.
Kim Joo-hyung uploaded a practice round scene with Woods and McIlroy through his social media and wrote his impression that ‘a dream really came true’.
In addition to Lim Seong-jae and Kim Joo-hyung, Kim Si-woo and Lee Kyung-hun will participate in the Masters, and Korean players include Kevin Na (USA) and Lee Min-woo (Australia).
Golf Channel, an American golf media, ranked all 88 players ahead of the opening of the Masters.
The Golf Channel predicted Kim Si-woo to be 31st and Lim Seong-jae to be 34th, and Kim Joo-hyung to be ranked 37th and Lee Gyeong-hoon to be ranked 69th.
The media predicted that Schaeffler would win the tournament for the second consecutive year, and that McIlroy would also win the runner-up for the second year in a row. Woods predicted 35th.