▲ In this Getty Images photo, Kim Joo-hyung of South Korea tees off on the seventh hole during the final round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 7, 2022. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Getty Images photo, Kim Joo-hyung of South Korea celebrates after making a par putt on the 18th green to win the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 7, 2022. (Yonhap)
▲ In this USA Today Sports via Reuters, Kim Joo-hyung of South Korea (R) bumps fists with his caddie Jacob Flack after making a birdie on the eighth hole during the final round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 7, 2022. (Yonhap)
▲ In this Associated Press photo, Kim Joo-hyung of South Korea hits his second shot on the eighth hole during the final round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 7, 2022. (Yonhap)

PGA Tour-S Korean winner

S. Korean Kim Joo-hyung captures 1st PGA Tour title

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- Powered by an impressive birdie flurry, South Korean phenom Kim Joo-hyung has seized his first career PGA Tour title.

Kim shot a blistering final round of nine-under 61 to capture the Wyndham Championship by five shots over countryman Im Sung-jae and Korean-American John Huh at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Sunday (local time).

Kim finished at 20-under 260 and cashed in a winner's check of US$1,314,000.

Kim, 20, is the first golfer born in the 2000s to win on the top men's tour. He is also the ninth South Korean to find the winner's circle in the PGA, joining Choi Kyoung-ju, Yang Yong-eun, Bae Sang-moon, Noh Seung-yul, Kim Si-woo, Kang Sung-hoon, Im Sung-jae and Lee Kyoung-hoon.

Kim has been playing on the PGA Tour since mid-July on a "special temporary membership" and has now secured full-time playing privileges for next season with this victory.

The Wyndham Championship was the final tournament of the tour's regular season, and the top 125 in the FedEx Cup points standings qualify for the playoffs each season. Kim, a nonmember, made it to the playoffs by virtue of this victory, and knocked No. 125 Matt Wallace out the competition.

The three-event playoffs begin Thursday with the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

With the Wyndham Championship interrupted by inclement weather, most players had to complete their third round Sunday before starting the final round. Kim posted a two-under 68 in the third round to reach 11-under.

After a par on the opening hole of the final round, Kim went on a tear, reeling off four birdies and an eagle over his next five holes to charge up the leaderboard. Thanks to birdies at the eighth and the ninth, Kim shot eight-under on the front nine alone.

Kim had a hiccup with a bogey at the 10th. But after four straight pars, Kim picked up birdies at the 15th and 16th to 20-under, good for a four-shot lead with two holes to play.

It was cruise control from there, and Kim drained a long par putt on the 18th green to cap off his breakthrough win.

Though this was Kim's first win on the PGA Tour, he already had seven other professional victories -- two on the Asian Tour, three on the Asian Development Tour and two on the Korean Tour. Kim was the leading money winner on the Asian Tour during the pandemic-interrupted season that began in 2020 and concluded this year.

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