It’s not the way you start, but the way you end that determines the hero in the end. No truer words can be said about Joohyung Kim and his performance at Wyndham 2022. The 20-year-old, known as “Tom”, overcame an early blunder on Thursday to claim his first PGA Tour title in a convincing fashion after the final round of 9 under 61 .
Starting his championship at Sedgefield Country Club with a bogey quad on the first hole, the South Korean found himself 13 strokes short of the pace set by first-round leader Jun Hu. Panic, uneasiness, and annoyance could have spread easily, but instead, Kim made his way back in while displaying the mental fortitude of a golfer twice his age. Kim eventually signed a 3-under 67, adding rounds 64 and 68 before going completely nuclear on Sunday.
Starting today twice from Sungjae Im’s progress, Kim has been locked out of the word go. Making three consecutive birdies from No. 2-4, Kim jumped himself to the top of the leaderboard with an eagle on the 5-bar before making three more birdies on his inner half. He needed only 27 strokes on his front nine streak when he turned 8-under, and in the process he earned the second-lowest nine-hole score in PGA Tour history.
From there, Kim in cruise control went down in history as he became the second-youngest PGA Tour winner since World War II. Jordan Spieth was 19 when he won the John Deere Classic. Kim also became the first non-member to win since Colin Morikawa at the 2019 Barracuda Championship and the first man born in the 2000s to win the PGA Tour.
While he had earned his spot on the PGA Tour for the 2022-23 season, his only path to the FedEx Cup playoffs this season has been a victory. With that, he climbed to 34th place in the FedEx Cup standings and now has a great opportunity to play himself in the Tour Championship where the top 30 players will qualify.
As if this month didn’t change his life enough, Kim’s upward trajectory should only continue as it should be considered a lock on next month’s Presidents Cup 2022 at the Quail Hollow Club. With Captain Trevor Immelman looking for players to complete his international squad, Kim will be at the top of the list if he does not qualify on merit.
All this in a period of weeks, and all this in 20 years. What he has accomplished is nothing short of amazing. This is a guy who – some would argue a kid – should be in college, curling up in economics class and staying away from bars. Instead, he’s a winner on the PGA Tour with a bright future as the star. Grade: A +
Below are the scores for the rest of the Wyndham 2022 tournament highlights.
2 – Sungjae M (-16): He was the betting favorite after each round, but Em was simply outdone by his countryman on Sunday. The 24-year-old was having his moments while cruising for the fifth-ranked Eagle to stay in touch with the lead, but he had some inexplicable fouls on the Greens. With two inside 5-foot hits coming from the front nine, the inside half entered a need to play golf perfectly. Although Im didn’t do this in the end, he did manage to break into the top ten of the FedEx Cup regular season standings, which comes with a good payday. Grade: A
T5. Max McGravep (-13): Despite the increase and added pressure, there are usually only two or three players playing themselves inside the top 125 players of the Wyndham Championship. That player this week was McGreevy, entering Week 126 and rising to the occasion. It’s really amazing that the rookie on the PGA Tour was in this position, as his first regular season campaign saw him lose the pieces in 18 of 27 starts. However, it’s all about what you can do with those weekend looks, and McGreevy has proven that a few good outings can really make your season.
“I think my goal was just to play good golf,” McGreevey said. “I wasn’t trying to get a certain amount of points or finish in the top 30 or something. I hadn’t played golf well in a long time, so I was just trying to play good golf and thought it might take care of myself. It felt good to put all fours Good rides together, for sure.” Grade: A +
T13. Davis Riley (-11): He got hit by a freight train – pun intended – and because of that Riley was unable to win his first regular season on the PGA Tour. However, he’s inside the FedEx Cup’s top 30 rankings and should play himself in the Tour Championship while being given major tournament waivers and plenty of fortunes along the way. It has been a great year for the Mississippi native as he has struggled with some regularity and should continue to improve with just this experience. B degree
T21. Will Zlatoris (-9): Expectations were high for Zalatoris this week because he needed to do well to break into the Comcast Business TOUR Top 10. Undeterred, the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon not only missed a big payday but left Greensboro without his model bag man before him. side. He broke off the pack after the second round, and Zalatoris went on to sign for rounds 66-68 over the weekend. He’s still searching for his first win on the PGA Tour, and perhaps, perhaps, adding a different sound in his ear will finally allow him to enter the winner’s circle.
“I did some really good things and I did some really bad things,” Zalatores said. “Good stuff there, you just need to clean up the bad stuff. I’ve been playing some nice golf this year and the next three weeks are clearly what I’ve been preparing for. So we should be proud of some of those last three rounds and keep coming in next week.” On the golf course I love.” B-grade