Major champions Koepka and Clark play together in Japan tour ‘special tournament’
Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, won by Woods, Watson and others, begins its 50th tournament on the 16th
Koepka speaking at a press conference on the 15th
Brooks Koepka, winner of the PGA Championship in this year's PGA Tour major tournament, and US Open champion Wyndham Clark (USA) will play together in the Japan Professional Golf (JGTO) tournament.
According to the JGTO Dunlop Phoenix Tournament Organizing Committee on the 15th, they and Hideki Matsuyama, a leading figure in Japanese men's golf, will compete in the first and second rounds of this tournament, which will be held for four days from the 16th at the Phoenix Country Club (par 71, 7,004 yards) in Miyazaki, Japan. Play in the same group.
Koepka, who won this year's PGA Championship and became the first LIV player to win a major tournament along with his fifth major championship, also won the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in 2016 and 2017.
The Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, which has been held since 1974 and celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is one of JGTO's special tournaments with a total prize money of 200 million yen (about 1.73 billion won).
Excluding the ISPS Handa Championship (total prize money of $2 million, approximately 2.6 billion won), which is co-hosted with the DP World Tour, and the Japan Open, which has a total prize money of 210 million yen this year, the prize money is the largest.
Past winner of the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament placed at Phoenix Country Club
Many world-class players, including Tiger Woods (2004, 2005), Tom Watson (1980, 1997), and Luke Donald (2012, 2013), have participated and left their names as winners.
To date, Masashi Ozaki (Japan) is the only person to have won this competition three times in 1994, 1995, and 1996.If Koepka, who returned five years after finishing in 2018 (12th place), rises to the top again, he will tie the record for most wins in history.
Koepka, who attended the press conference that day, said, "It's been 5 years since I've been here, but I'm looking forward to it with a comfortable feeling that I don't even feel the time has passed. I'm looking forward to playing in front of Japanese fans," and added, "The group formation is also especially interesting."
He said, "This is a special tournament for me. I think the confidence I gained from winning this tournament has led me to win major tournaments since," and added, "If I win this year, I will be able to build confidence for the next few years."
He, who played the pro-am round earlier that day, said, "I made a few mistakes, but I'm in pretty good shape. I focused on playing consistently," and added, "I got the impression that the greens were a little harder and faster than before, but the course conditions were excellent." 스포츠토토맨