'Reaching the final for the fifth consecutive year' Lim Sung-jae "I want to play steadily without ups and downs"

Nine top-10s this season without a win "Correct your setup to get your shot back"

Seongjae Lim

Three South Koreans have qualified for the Tour Championship, the final event on the United States Professional Golf (PGA) Tour: Kim Ju-hyung, Im Sung-jae, and Kim Si-woo.

Of the three, Im is the only one without a win this season.

Nevertheless, he is in the top 30 on the FedExCup points list, which means that despite not winning a trophy this season, he has been a consistent performer.

In 29 events this season, Lim has made 23 cuts and finished in the top 10 nine times. He has 17 top-25 finishes.

"It's important to win, but I don't think it's good to have too many ups and downs after a win," Lim said at a press conference with local media and online on Sept. 23, a day before the Tour Championship begins. "I like to play steady rather than ups and downs," he said.

"When you're consistently in the top 10, you're more recognized by your peers, like, 'This guy can play well at any time and win,'" he said.

Looking back on the season, he said, "I didn't win, but I had nine top-10 finishes, so I think I did well enough." "I was worried because I lost a lot of my shot feeling after the middle of the season, but I'm glad I got it back quickly," he said.

Lim suffered a sudden slump on the PGA Tour after winning the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour's Woori Financial Championship on May 14 in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.

He missed the cut five times in nine events in about two months, from the PGA Championship in May to the 3M Open in July.

"My swing balance and shot feeling had dropped because I was tired after Korea, and my tee shot accuracy had dropped, especially off the tee," he recalled. "After catching and correcting the changes in my swing setup, my shot feeling returned at the end of the season."

Lim went on to finish tied for 14th at the Wyndham Championship in August, the final event of the regular season, tied for sixth at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in the first round of the playoffs, and tied for seventh at the BMW Championship in the second round.

It was his fifth consecutive Tour Championship appearance.

"Rather than thinking about chasing a seven-shot lead, I think if I enjoy every day and play well, I'll be able to compete for the title," said Lim, who finished runner-up in last year's event.

At the Tour Championship, players start the tournament with different strokes because of bonus strokes based on their FedExCup standings.

The top-ranked player in the FedExCup will start the first round at 10-under par, while 17th-ranked Sungjae Im will start at 2-under par.

"I think the tee shot is the most important thing because the fairways are tight and the rough is not very good," said Lim. "I think I can do well by going for par on the difficult par-3s and staying in the fairway on the par-4s to create a lot of birdie opportunities with my iron shots."

스포츠토토맨; https://www.sportstotomen.com