With my wife.’
Korean players participating in the Par 3 Contest, the opening event of the Masters, set out to make memories with their wives.
Kim Si-woo (28), Lim Seong-jae (25)안전놀이터, and Lee Gyeong-hoon (32), who got married last December, will take part in a par 3 contest held at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, USA on the 6th (Korean time) with their wife and children.
The par 3 contest, held the day before the opening of the Masters in 1960, is an event game. They play on a 9-hole par 3 course next to the regular course and awards are given according to their performance. However, it is held separately from the main event and players use it as an opportunity to make good memories with their families, friends and acquaintances.
Kim Si-woo, who has participated in the Masters for 7 consecutive years, competed alone when he first participated last year, but this year he is with his wife Oh Ji-hyun (27). Oh Ji-hyun carries Kim Si-woo’s bag and goes out as a caddy.
Kim Si-woo married Oh Ji-hyun last December. Oh Ji-hyun, who has won 7 wins in the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) tour, has retired from her active career after her marriage and is focusing on her husband, Kim Si-woo’s housekeeping.
Another fun aspect of the par 3 contest is the ‘pinch hit chance’. A companion acting as a caddy can take the place of a shot or putt.
Oh Ji-hyeon jumped into active duty even six months ago. Although he has quit playing as a player, he has high-level golf skills, so he is looking forward to what kind of shots he will show. Oh Ji-hyun is expected to tee off the ninth hole in place of Kim Si-woo.
Lim Seong-jae (25) participated in the par 3 contest with his parents last year and became a ‘surprise star’. Her father, Lim Ji-taek, put a tee shot into the hole 1.5m in place of Lim Seong-jae in the 9th hole. When she almost made a hole-in-one, Scotty Scheffler and Sam Burns (US), who were waiting for a tee shot, came running and congratulated her. This scene spread rapidly on social media, and fans who saw it recognized Lim first and congratulated him.
Im Seong-jae, who made wonderful memories with his parents last year, decided to entrust the bag to his wife this year.
After worrying about his wife, who is caddying for the first time, Im Seong-jae said, “I’m going to go out with only two wedges and one putter, so I don’t think my golf bag will be heavy.”
Im Seong-jae’s wife learned to golf when she was young, but she doesn’t play golf now, so she doesn’t play as a pinch hitter.
Lee Gyeong-hoon’s (32) wife Yoo Joo-yeon participates in her par-3 contest for the second year in a row and caddies for her. She enjoyed her par-3 contest last year holding her 8-month-old daughter, Yuna.
Lee Kyung-hoon expected, “This year, I think it will be fun to go to the par 3 contest with my wife.”
Kim Joo-hyung (21), who is participating in the Masters for the first time, is known to be a caddy by an acquaintance.