Lim Sung-jae (26) tied for fourth at the Genesis Scottish Open (total prize money of 9 million U.S. dollars) of the PGA Tour. Lim Sung-jae, who challenged to come from behind to win the title by a four-par difference, failed to win the title, but has continued his upward trend by ranking in the top 10 four times in the recent six tournaments.
Lim Sung-jae tied four birdies and three bogeys for a 1-under 69 in the final fourth round of the tournament at the Renaissance Club (par 70) in North Berwick, Scotland, on the 15th (Korea time).
Lim Sung-jae, who recorded a total of 14-under 266, finished the tournament tied for fourth, four shots behind winner Robert McIntyre of Scotland.
Lim Sung-jae, who started the final round by four strokes from the lead, failed to reduce the number of pars by exchanging two birdies and two bogeys in the first nine holes. He made a birdie at the 14th hole (par 3) in the second half, but recorded an even par until the 17th hole by writing a bogey at the 15th hole (par 4), and made a 3-meter birdie at the last 18th hole (par 4) to reduce one stroke and finish the game.
As a result, Lim Sung-jae achieved his sixth top 10 this season, especially in the last six competitions, and maintained his upward trend by reaching the top 10 four times. Lim Sung-jae’s trend slowed down, with five missed cuts until mid-May, and then tied for eighth in the Memorial Tournament and third in the Travelers Championship in June, starting with ninth place in the Charles Schwab Challenge in May. At last week’s John Deere Classic, he failed to make the top 10 but tied for 12th by one stroke and succeeded in making the top 10 again in this competition.
It is regrettable that he performed poorly ahead of the deadline for his participation in the Paris Olympics. On June 17, the deadline for the Paris Olympics, Lim Sung-jae became the third Korean player to be ranked in the world after Kim Joo-hyung (22) and Ahn Byung-hoon (33), failing to participate in the Paris Olympics. Korean men’s golf team received two tickets to participate in the Paris Olympics. Ahead of the upcoming event, Lim was ranked 28th in the world, ranking the second highest among Korean players. His good performance at the Genesis Scottish Open is expected to slightly increase his world ranking.
Though Lim is unable to participate in the Paris Olympics, he has taken a step closer to his goal of advancing to the Tour Championships for the sixth consecutive year. Lim has elevated his FedEx Cup ranking from 15th to 10th, stabilizing his entry into the Tour Championships slated for late August. The Tour Championship is a “luxury competition” in which only players who rank within the top 30 of the FedEx Cup are allowed to participate before the event takes place.
먹튀검증 The winner was Robert McIntyre of Scotland, who saved four pars with one eagle and two birdies at the last five holes. McIntyre shot three under par in the final round to post 18-under 262 overall to win the title. Notably, McIntyre tied with Adam Scott of Australia for first place until the 17th hole, before holing out with a 7-meter birdie putt at the 18th hole (par 4) to roar. The prize money is 1.575 million U.S. dollars.
McIntyre, who won the National title in his home country of Scotland, said, “I got what I wanted. I can’t believe I won the Scottish Open.”
There was also a dramatic moment. McIntyre, who was trailing by two shots with three holes to go, had his tee shot off the fairway at the 16th (par 5) and fell into a rough patch, and tried to “lay up” the ball to safely place it on the fairway. While exercising, however, he felt as if something was getting stuck on the grass, and when he took a closer look, he found that the sprinkler head was deep in the grass. He called a sports commissioner to put the ball back on the ground, played a second shot with a 6-iron, put the ball on the green, and succeeded in a 3-meter eagle putt to tie Scott for the lead. He then succeeded in finishing birdie at the 18th (par 4).
McIntyre became the first Scot to win the Scottish Open in 25 years since Colin Montgomery in 1999. After winning his first PGA Tour victory at the RBC Canadian Open last month, McIntyre won his second career championship in a month.
Notably, he said on the 16th hole, “I had great luck. I made good use of the rules to get a favorable situation. Sprinkler was a necessary situation for me.”
Scott, who had been looking to win for the first time in about four years since the 2020 Genesis Invitational, finished second (17 under par 263) alone, performing well for the first time in a long time.
Aaron Lai of England shot seven under par in the final round to tie for fourth place (14-under 266) to qualify for the DeOpen Championship, the last major tournament of the season to open on the 18th. Lai, who tied for 33rd place until the third round, would not have won the DeOpen ticket if not for the last day.
Richard Mansell (England) and Alex Noren (Sweden), who tied for 10th, took two remaining tickets to the D-Open.
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), who returned after a month of shocking upset loss at the U.S. Open, finished the title defense tournament tied for fourth (14-under 266).
Kim Joo-hyung, who is representing the Paris Olympics, reduced his pars by six to tie for 15th (12-under 268), while Kim Si-woo (29) tied for 26th (10-under 270). Lee Jung-hwan (32), who is active in the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA), tied for 46th (7-under 273).
