GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The 20-year-old Korean closed the Wyndham Championship at 9-under on Sunday with a 9-under 61. , with a five-shot victory at the Wyndham Championship, Joohyung “Tom” Kim announced he will be on the PGA Tour. Second-youngest Tour winner since World War II.
Marathon day turned into a sprint for Kim due to storm delays. He finished his third round in the morning, two shots behind, then shot 27 on the front nine, leaving the rest of the field behind him.
No one came near the rest of the time.
The win saw King instantly become a member of the PGA Tour, making him eligible for the FedExCup playoffs that begin next week. He’s at No. 34, guaranteed to play in two playoff games, and has the potential to make the finals at East Lake.
Lim Sungjae, who had seven holes and a 54-hole lead Sunday morning, shot a 68 to tie for second with John Hsu (67).
King is the first PGA Tour champion born after 2000. Jordan Spieth won the John Deere Classic at age 19, his first tour victory.
“I couldn’t believe it,” King said, before adding with a smile, “I didn’t know golf was his stress.”
It certainly didn’t look that way for King, who started the tournament with a four-bogey 8, laughed it off, and ended the week at Sedgefield Country with a 20-under par at Sedgefield Country Club. club.
It’s stressful for other people, even those who don’t play.
Heartbroken is Justin Lore, who is poised to finish in the top 125 in the FedExCup, make the playoffs and get a full card for next season.
But on the final hole, Lore’s 60-foot birdie putt was a little too hard. That left him with a 6-foot par putt that would have gotten him into the first 125 holes. He missed a putt on the right and was wiping tears as he left the green.
“I really don’t know what I’m thinking. It sucks to be this short,” Lohr said. “Obviously got some help from the people at LIV and so on — I don’t even know if I can say that. But I don’t know. There’s a positive side. But right now, it sucks.”
The tour suspended players signed with Saudi-funded LIV Golf who did not count towards the top 125 in the FedEx Cup. The lower ranking is equivalent to 128th in the final game of the regular season.
Fowler looked unlucky when he missed the cut with 123rd on Friday. But enough players disappeared over the weekend, like Brian Stuard, Fowler’s season at FedEx St. Jude extended by at least one more week for the championship next week.
Two players were eliminated from the top 125 — Matt Wallace (124) and Austin Smotherman (125), who needed par on the last hole of the second round And made a double bogey.
Max McGreevy equaled No. 126, tied for No. 5 and moved up to No. 104. The other is Kim, who didn’t make it to the standings before accepting membership after winning. Along with two top 10 finishes, including third at the Scottish Open, Kim moved up to 34th.
Kim – known as “Tom” for his childhood fascination with Thomas, the tank engine from the TV series “Thomas and Friends” – rose to No. 21 in the world rankings. Only Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy have reached such a high ranking at a young age.
His performance was similar to McIlroy winning his first PGA Tour title in 2010, when he shot a final-round 62 in Quail Hollow.
King made 20-foot and 25-foot birdie putts on the second and third holes. He then made a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 4, an 8-foot eagle putt on No. 5 and an 18-foot birdie on the next hole. He made two more birdies at the end of the front nine for a 27 and is on his way.
Kim’s only loss was a bogey in the deep rough on the 10th tee. Otherwise, there is little doubt about the outcome of the next game.
King held a press conference with Greg Norman at the Saudi International earlier this year, when LIV Golf announced it would increase its investment in the Asian Tour to $300 million. Kim won his first Asian Tour title in Singapore earlier this year.
But he said his lifelong dream was to play on the PGA Tour, and he got there in style.
In addition to qualifying for the FedExCup playoffs, King is expected to be part of the Presidents Cup international team next month.
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