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Three Korean golfers to swing into 2025 action with The Sentry in Hawaii

Published: 02 Jan. 2025, 15:58

PAIK JI-HWAN
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Im Sung-jae plays his shot from the third tee during the third round of the Hero World Challenge 2024 at Albany Golf Course on Dec. 7, 2024 in Nassau, Bahamas. [AFP/YONHAP]

Three Korean golfers Im Sung-jae, Kim Si-woo and An Byeong-hun begin their 2025 PGA Tour journey in the season opener The Sentry, teeing off in Hawaii on Thursday.

The Sentry at the Kapalua Plantation Course is a tournament in which 31 PGA Tour winners and 29 golfers that finished in the top 50 in the 2024 FedExCup rankings last year compete.

Not a single Korean golfer won a title on the Tour last season, but Im, Kim and An all showcased strong performances.

Im heads to the course on the back of eight top-10 finishes last season, during which he made the cut 20 times in 26 tournaments and secured a victory at the KPGA’s Woori Financial Group Championship in April last year. Im also finished strong at The Sentry last season, tying for fifth, one spot below An.

Im amassed $6.2 million in prize money from the PGA last season, but said during an interview last month with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, that the prize money is secondary and he is keen to lift a third PGA trophy.

The two-time PGA champion has not lifted a trophy on the Tour since a victory at the Shriners Children’s Open in October 2021.

Four-time PGA winner Kim also had a smooth run in the 2024 season, making the cut 22 times out of 25 competitions with three top-10 finishes.

An, meanwhile, came close to winning his first PGA title with a runner-up finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii and clinched victory at the Genesis Championship co-sanctioned by the KPGA and DP World Tour in October last year.

An Byeong-hun tees off on the sixth hole during the final round of the Genesis Championship golf tournament at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon on Oct. 27, 2024. [AFP/YONHAP]

Last season saw clear dominance from world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who claimed seven titles in a single season. Scheffler, however, is not competing in this week’s tournament due to injury.

The field still includes a host of strong contenders such as world No. 2 Xander Schauffele and No. 4 Collin Morikawa. Schauffele won two PGA titles last season, while Morikawa made two runner-up finishes.

Defending champion of The Sentry Chris Kirk will also be in the field on the back of his only title at the tournament last season and three top-10 finishes.

The 2025 season offers PGA contenders plenty of opportunities to lift titles, with the Tour schedule lasting through December across 39 tournaments.

Four majors — the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship — are scheduled through July, followed by three FedEx Cup playoff events that golfers can qualify for through the FedExCup rankings.

Top 70 golfers in the standings qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, with top 50 advancing to the BMW Championship. From there, the final 30 players qualify for the Tour Championship.

The 60 golfers at The Sentry will vie for the top prize money of $3.6 million from a total purse of $20 million on the line.

The tournament is a no-cut 72-hole stroke-play event. Kim will tee off on the first hole with Robert MacIntyre and Will Zalatoris at 8:57 a.m., followed by An on the same hole alongside Rafael Campos and Viktor Hovland at 9:51 a.m.

Im will start also on the first hole alongside Billy Horscheul and Russell Henley at 11:03 a.m.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]