 |
|
In this Getty Images photo, Kim Joo-hyung of South Korea tees off on the 13th hole during the final round of the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas on Sunday. (Yonhap) |
South Korean youngster Kim Joo-hyung has found the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour for the second time.
Kim held off Patrick Cantlay and Matthew NeSmith, both of the United States, by three strokes at 24-under to win the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas on Sunday (local time). Kim outdueled his two American playing partners with the final round score of five-under 66, for the four round total of 260 on the par-71 course. Kim did not commit a bogey in the entire tournament.
Kim, 20, grabbed his maiden title at the Wyndham Championship in August as a rookie. Shriners Children’s Open was Kim’s first tournament of the 2022-2023 season.
Kim, who goes by his English name Tom in the US, is the second straight South Korean champion of this tournament. Im Sung-jae won the event last October and he finished seventh this time.
Kim is now the seventh South Korean with multiple PGA Tour wins, joining Choi Kyoung-ju (eight), Kim Si-woo (three), Yang Yong-eun (two), Bae Sang-moon (two), Lee Kyoung-hoon (two) and Im (two).
Kim and Cantlay were tied for the 54-hole lead at 19-under. Cantlay poured in 11 birdies for a 60 in the third round, while Kim also had a bogey-free third round of 62.
NeSmith began Sunday at 16-under.
Kim and Cantlay were knotted at 24-under standing on the 18th tee but then disaster struck for Cantlay, who found the waste bunker on the left off the tee and put his fourth shot into water following a penalty drop. He made a triple bogey there, and Kim made an easy par to lock down his victory.
Kim had also gotten the better of Cantlay at the Presidents Cup last month. Representing the International Team, Kim and Kim Si-woo took down the favored US duo of Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in a fourball match, and Kim Joo-hyung’s exuberant celebration of his clinching birdie putt went viral on social media, turning the South Korean into an instant star.
Kim Joo-hyung earned his PGA Tour card for this season while playing on a special temporary membership last summer, earning enough FedEx Cup points for full-time status even before his breakthrough victory at the Wyndham Championship.
Kim then put on a show at the Presidents Cup, and his victory in Las Vegas was the latest validation of his considerable talent and promise for a bright future. (Yonhap)