Tom Kim of Korea. File pic
Greensboro, NC, Aug 8: Anirban Lahiri rounded off the week with a 2-under 68 in a week that made a 20-year-old Korean Joohyung “Tom” Kim a hero as he added to his stature of a rising star stature with an emphatic five-shot victory over compatriot Sungjae Im and John Huh of the U.S. at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.
Lahiri whose rounds for the week included 66-67-68-68 for a 11-under total finished Tied-eighth, a morale-boosting Top-10 ahead of the FedExCup Play-offs that began immediately after this.
Lahiri had five birdies against three bogeys on a day when he missed quite a few chances. Yet he will rise to 66th as the Play-offs start with St. Jude Invitational.
Kim at 20 years, one month and 17 days, became the second-youngest winner since World War II. The youngest being Jordan Spieth at the 2013 John Deere Classic. He is also the first PGA Tour winner born in the 2000s. He closed with a stunning final round of 9-under 61, that included an 8-under 27 front nine. He totalled 20-under winning total.
His 20-under came after a quadruple bogey on his first hole on the first day.
Kim, who became a temporary member last Sunday, needed to win to be able to play in lucrative FedExCup Playoffs did so with a landmark win.
He is now exempt for two years.
“It’s crazy,” said Kim. “I mean, I’ve never won a golf tournament starting with a quad and here we are. I played great this week. It was hard to stay in the moment in the final round just knowing that I was so close, but I never let my guard down until I holed that putt on 18,” said Kim.
Kim returned e
arly Sunday to complete the remaining eight holes of the weather-disrupted third round with a 68 and trailed third round leader, Im by two.
Nicknamed Tom after “Thomas the Tank Engine”, due to his liking of the locomotive character from a British children’s book series, Kim charged out like a bullet train in the final round, shooting six birdies and an eagle for an outward 27 to take full control of the tournament which was the final event of the Regular Season.
He won a cheque of US$1.3 million and will also rise to No. 21 on the Official World Golf Ranking and has put himself in position for a spot in the International Team for the Presidents Cup against the U.S. at Quail Hollow next month.
Kim said securing his TOUR card last week in Detroit with a solo seventh place finish had given him the freedom to free-wheel his game at the Wyndham Championship, where he became the third Korean winner of the event following K.J. Choi in 2005 and Si Woo Kim in 2016. He is also the ninth Korean to win on TOUR.
The 24-year-old Im was disappointed he fell short in his attempt to land a third PGA TOUR win after he signed off with a 68 but finishing tied second saw him finish 10th in the Comcast Business TOUR Top-10 as he pocketed a US$1 million bonus pay out. He also took his hat off to Kim, whom he had played a practice round with at the start of the week.
