(Greensboro) Joohyung “Tom” Kim has made a splash on the PGA Tour.
Posted at 9:25 p.m.
The 20-year-old South Korean finished Sunday’s round with a nine-under-par 61 en route to a five-stroke victory over his nearest challenger at the Wyndham PGA Championship.
As a result, he became the second youngest golfer to be crowned champion on the circuit since the Second World War.
Kim finished the third round – postponed due to showers on Saturday – in the morning and was two strokes behind the leader.
He then completed the front nine of the final round in just 27 strokes and dropped all his pursuers.
With his triumph on the Sedgefield Country Club course, Kim instantly became a member of the PGA Tour and earned a bye to the FedEx Cup series which begins next week.
Rated 34e for the FedEx Cup series, Kim is guaranteed to take part in two events of the competition and could qualify for the final disputed in East Lake.
Sungjae Im, who played seven holes Sunday morning to take the lead after three rounds, posted a 68 on the final round. He finished tied for second with John Huh (67).
Kim is the first PGA Tour winner to be born after the year 2000. Jordan Spieth was 19 when he won the John Deere Classic for his first title.
“I can’t believe it,” Kim said, adding, with a laugh, that he didn’t know golf could be so stressful.
However, that didn’t seem to be the case for Kim, who entered the tournament with a quadruple bogey on a par-4 on the first hole. He ignored it to conclude the tournament in 260 strokes, 20 strokes under par.
Taylor Pendrith was the top Canadian with a 13e position at -10. His compatriot Corey Conners finished in 21e place at -9.
Kim — who calls himself Tom because he was fascinated by the ‘Thomas and Friends’ series as a child — grabbed 21e global level. Only Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy reached this rank at a younger age.