One of the points to watch this year at the Masters, the world’s most prestigious golf tournament, was the ‘real game’ between the US Professional Golf (PGA) Tour and LIV Golf. This is because it is the first confrontation in which the top rankers from both sides compete for supremacy since the launch of LIV Golf in June of last year. The two organizations faced each other in June (US Open) and July (The Open) of last year, but at that time Cameron Smith, who was ranked second in the world at the time, and Brooks Koepka (33, USA), who won 8 PGA wins, before moving to LIV. Then it wasn’t a competitor on the PGA.
It was different this time. Unlike other PGA tournaments that prohibit LIV golf players from participating, Augusta National GC, which hosts the Masters, declared, “LIV golf players can play as long as they are qualified to participate, such as world rankings.” This is why 18 leading stars of LIV, including Smith, Koepka, Phil Mickelson (53, USA), and Patrick Reed (33, USA), were able to compete in the Masters this year. In the PGA, Scotty Scheffler (27, USA), Rory McIlroy (34, Northern Ireland), who is ranked 1st to 3rd in the world, and Jon Rahm came out.
LIV’s challenge was tough. On the 9th (local time) ahead of the final round, Koepka was at the top of the leaderboard. Mickelson and Reed also made the top 10. On the other hand, McIlroy and Justin Thomas (30, USA), who are the signs of the PGA Tour, were eliminated from the cut, and the defending champion, Schaeffler, was also unable to gain strength. The news of the withdrawal of Tiger Woods (48, USA), the “Emperor of Golf,” which was delivered early this morning, broke the momentum of the PGA group once more.
However, Greg Norman (68, Australia), the head of LIV, said, “If LIV wins, all 18 players who participated in the Masters, their families, and their caddies will gather next to the green on the 18th hole and hold a grand celebration.” It was blocked by ‘Rambo’ Yon Ram, who had both ‘distance’ and ‘direction’. Ram, who started the rest of the 3rd round with a 4 strokes behind Koepka that day, played a total of 29 holes and won the championship by defeating Koepka with a difference of 4 strokes. In the fourth round, he shot a 3-under 69 with 4 birdies and 1 bogey, for a final total of 12-under 276. 토토사이트
Koepka, who flew wildly until the 3rd round, shook sharply from the 4th round. Last year, a knee injury that was so serious that it took him 15 minutes to get out of bed caught his ankle. It was because of two days of heavy rain on the already steep course of Augusta National GC. He had strained his knees by walking on the slippery road. As the game progressed, Koepka’s gait became uncomfortable, and he lost 4 strokes until the 14th hole (par 4).
I was not one to miss this opportunity. I started the final round with a two stroke difference with Koepka, but I closed the gap in four holes. The third shot from the side of the green at hole 13 (par 5), the last of the ‘amen corner’ attached because it was so difficult that the sound of ‘amen’ came out naturally, I put the third shot on the 1.5m hole and got a birdie, and also made a birdie at hole 14 (par 4). caught That’s how I opened the at-bats against Koepka.
Ram is a golfer with both distance, accuracy and putting skills. This season, he ranks 6th on the PGA Tour in average distance (314.1 yards), 3rd in green hit rate (72.8%), and 2nd in average number of putts when hitting the green (1.67).
Mental is also strong. He started the first round of the tournament with a double bogey on hole 1 (par 4). He got it on the green in two, but it was broken with a 4-putt. However, after making up for the next two holes with birdies, he cut another 7 strokes to finish the game at 7 under par. He said, “I have strong faith in all parts of my performance,” and “I just focused on what I had to do even in difficult situations. That’s something I can do and control.” The victory marked Rahm’s 11th career PGA Tour victory and his second major win. Along with the green jacket given only to the winner of the Masters, he won 3.24 million dollars (approximately 4.27 billion won) in prize money. 1 in the world rankings followed.
Even though the winner was lost, LIV Golf also got a lot from the Masters. Koepka and Mickelson tied for 2nd place and Reed tied for 3rd place, showing the world that LIV is a true match on the PGA. Among Korean players, Lim Seong-jae (25) and Kim Joo-hyung (21) tied for 16th with a 2-under-par 286 strokes, and Lee Gyeong-hoon (32) finished the tournament with a 1-under 287 stroke for 23rd place. Kim Si-woo hit a 1-over par of 289 and tied for 29th.
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