Until the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first tournament of the year on the PGA Tour, was held, there was not a single super long hit of 400 yards or more in the 2022-2023 season. On the PGA Tour, which started in September of last year, until the end of last year when nine tournaments were held, Mito Pereira’s longest shot was 387 yards, far short of 400 yards.
However, after the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the 10th tournament of the season and the first tournament of 2023, the number of super long hits over 400 yards increased to 31. This is because super long hits poured in at the Kapalua Plantation Course in Hawaii, which is the site of the Sentry Tournament of Champions and has the most tee shots of 400 yards or more.
In the meantime, 25 in 2018 was the most on the Kapalua Plantation course, but even that record was broken. This is in stark contrast to the fact that only four came out last year. The biggest reason why there are so many super long hits over 400 yards in Kapalua is because there are exceptionally many holes with steep slopes. Kapalua, the only par 73 course on the PGA Tour, has only three par 3 holes, while seven holes over 500 yards, including four par 5 holes. In particular, the 18th hole (par 5, 672 yards) is so downhill that the golf course introduces it as “a place where you can hit the longest drive shot in your life and feel like a pro.”
Among those super long shots, the main character who flew the farthest was Luke List, who sent 459 yards in the 7th hole (par 4, 531 yards) in the 3rd round. The second farthest player was Ryan Bram with a 455 yards on the 18th hole. Currently, the 2nd to 4th places in the long drive category were all recorded on the 18th hole.
The steeply downhill 18th hole is famous for being the place where Davis Love III’s 476 yards, the official longest shot in golf history, came out. Although it is an unofficial record, ‘Golf Emperor’ Tiger Woods also flew 498 yards on the 18th hole in Kapalua in 2002.
In terms of numbers, the hole with the most long hits over 400 yards is the 7th hole. In this tournament, 18 super long hits over 400 yards were poured. Among the 18 players who sent a 400+ yard tee shot on the 7th hole, Im Seong-jae and Kim Joo-hyeong, 슬롯사이트.the ‘one-two punch’ of Korean men’s golf, were included.
First of all, Lim Seong-jae, who tied for 13th in this tournament, flew 427 yards on the 7th hole in the 4th round. It is tied for seventh in the long drive category with long hitter Justin Thomas. What is unfortunate is that Im Seong-jae recorded a bogey in this hole.
There were only 107 yards left to the pin, but a mistake was made on the second shot, and the ball flew into the left rough, and even the third shot landed in the rough near the green, hitting bogey. The golf adage, “The most dangerous moment when you hit the best,” was right in the situation.
Kim Joo-hyung, who tied for 5th place with the best score among Korean players, also sent 406 yards on the 7th hole in the 4th round. It is a tie for 23rd in the long drive category. Kim Joo-hyung also made a second shot with 120 yards left, but it was only a ‘2 on 2 putt’ par.
Lee Kyung-hoon, who tied for 7th, shot 399 yards, just 1 yard short of 400 yards on the 12th hole in the first round. Winner Yon Lam also sent more than 400 yards once, sending 415 yards on the 12th hole in the second round.