01시드 유지를 향한 마지막 스퍼트, 쇠데르베리의 '배수의 진'
세바스티안 쇠데르베리가 차기 시즌 DP 월드 투어 출전권을 지켜내기 위한 중대한 기로에 섰다. 쇠데르베리는 한국에서 개최되는 제네시스 챔피언십에 출전하여 자신의 투어 카드를 유지하기 위한 필사의 추격전을 시작한다. 이번 대회 결과에 따라 내년 시즌 행보가 결정되는 만큼 그 어느 때보다 비장한 각오로 필드에 나선다.
현재 레이스 투 두바이(Race to Dubai) 랭킹에서 시드 유지 안정권에 들기 위해 고군분투 중인 쇠데르베리는 이번 대회에서 모든 에너지를 쏟아붓겠다는 의지를 밝혔다. 그는 인터뷰를 통해 투어 카드를 지키기 위해 끝까지 파고들 준비가 되어 있다고 강조하며, 순위 반등을 위해 매 라운드 집중력을 극대화할 것임을 시사했다.
제네시스 챔피언십은 시즌 막바지 시드권 경쟁의 분수령이 되는 대회로, 쇠데르베리에게는 이번 성적이 투어 잔류 여부를 가를 핵심 지표가 될 전망이다. 그는 강한 압박감 속에서도 평정심을 유지하며 자신의 기량을 최대한 발휘해 내년에도 DP 월드 투어에서 활약하기 위한 발판을 마련하겠다는 계획이다.
02Original (English) — DP World Tour
Sebastian Söderberg said he is ready to dig deep and stay patient as he bids to retain his DP World Tour card at this week's Genesis Championship in South Korea.
With the top 100 players guaranteed full status on the DP World Tour next season, the Swede arrives at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club 101st on the Race to Dubai Rankings delivered by DP World, just 0.75 points behind Viktor Hovland.
With Hovland not in the field this week, Söderberg knows a solid performance would be enough to secure his playing privileges for 2027.
The 36-year-old has recorded three top-ten finishes this year, including back-to-back results at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and Magical Kenya Open presented by absa, as well as another at the KLM Open. However, 13 missed cuts have left the 2019 Omega European Masters champion battling to extend his stay on Golf's Global Tour.
Rather than panic, Söderberg is seemingly taking comfort in the fact he remains within touching distance of the all-important top 100 after a mixed set of results this season.
"To be honest, I feel like I've played so much bad golf, I'm kind of happy that I'm this close," Söderberg told the DP World Tour on Wednesday.
"This is kind of a first for me, I feel like I haven't been at the last event fighting to keep my card. I'm trying to look at it as just an opportunity to have a good week and nothing else. The difference between finishing 100th and 101st is nothing, but it's obviously going to mean everything.
"I don't need to pull out a miracle in the last week. I know if I just play solid this week, it should be good. This is just one of those times when you've got to dig deep and really stay patient and disciplined.
"Of course, at the same time, it just hasn't been a very good fall. No top tens, which is the ones you want. But I do feel like at the Dunhill, I found a few things that were pretty good. I'm hoping I can just build on that."
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Söderberg's struggles on the course have come during a year that has brought significant milestones away from golf.
The Swede and his fiancée welcomed a son and also became engaged, developments he says have helped him maintain perspective during difficult stretches in form.
While he admits previous seasons may have seen him dwell more on poor performances, he believes family life has allowed him to arrive at tournaments with a fresher mindset, even if the results have not yet reflected that change.
"One word, terrible," he said when asked to sum up his season.
"It's been weird because I feel like I've really been struggling on the golf course this year. And on a personal note, it's probably been one of the best years of my life.
"Me and my fiancée, we had a son, we got engaged. So that's been great. But obviously, just been struggling on the golf course.
"I think in previous years, I probably would have gotten down on myself a little bit more. This year, I feel like I come into tournaments a little more reset because there's just more important stuff going on outside the course."
The challenge, according to Söderberg, has been a lack of any consistent strength in his game, which has made it difficult to build momentum.
Recent signs have been more encouraging, however. A tie for 17th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship represented his best finish since June, and he arrives in Korea believing his game is closer than it has been for much of the season.
With his fate firmly in his hands, Söderberg maintains he is ready to dig deep in the final event of the regular season.
"I do feel like the last few weeks, my game has started to improve a lot," he said.
"The summer and beginning of the fall, I didn't feel like I knew what the ball was doing. I do feel like I'm pretty close on playing good golf. I'm as confident as you could be in this position, I guess.
"I know there's going to be moments this week when you're going to feel a lot of pressure and just got to dig deep and be super focused on what you're trying to do and really just take it one shot at a time.”
"I feel like I have nothing to lose."