Wyndham Championship: Tom Kim shakes off quadruple bogey to win, secures FedEx spot, Rickie Fowler in
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Updated 25/09/2022 at 21:56 GMT
The Wyndham Championship closes the regular season on the PGA Tour and much was settled on Sunday. Tom Kim cemented his status on the Tour with his victory in what was his ninth start on the PGA Tour. Kim stormed to victory at Sedgefield Country Club in blistering fashion. He went out in 27 strokes, the second lowest front nine in PGA Tour history and held firm on the run for home.
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Tom Kim’s meteoric rise continued with a maiden PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham Championship.
In the final event of the regular season, Kim took the win on his ninth start on the PGA Tour - with the victory securing him a spot in the FedEx Cup play-offs.
While it was joy for Kim, there was heartbreak for England’s Matt Wallace. After missing the cut, Wallace was reliant on other results both to secure a spot in the play-offs and to lock down his Tour card for next season.
Wins for the likes of John Huh, Sungjae Im or Russell Henley would have been enough to help Wallace over the line, but Kim dealt a knockout blow as the Korean was not a member of the Tour at the start of the event. Victory secured him an automatic invite, and the 125th spot.
Asked if he would accept his PGA Tour membership, Kim said: “I gladly do.”
Kim secured the victory in some style, as he went out in 27 strokes, the second-lowest score on a front nine in PGA Tour history.
Hopes of a fabled 59 were dashed by a surprise bogey on the 10th after a wayward tee shot, but he regrouped and fended off Sungjae Im and John Huh with a 61 for a five-shot win.
As good as the win was in itself, it needs to be remembered that he opened the tournament with a quadruple-bogey eight.
“I can’t believe it, I am speechless,” Kim said. “I have worked really hard to get to this point.
“It was a hard day. I did not know golf could be this stressful before.
“I stayed patient this week. After that quad, once I laughed it off I could feel myself in a better mental state. Instead of getting angry and depressed, I stayed in the moment.
“I can’t believe I won with a quadruple bogey on the first hole. It is a week I will definitely remember.”
Final Leaderboard
- 1. Joohyung Kim, 20-under
- T2. Sungjae Im, 15-under
- T2. John Huh, 15-under
- 4. Ben Griffin, 14-under
- T5. Max McGreevy, 13-under
- T5. Russell Henley, 13-under
- T5. Taylor Moore, 13-under
- T8. Brandon Wu, 11-under
- T8. Tyreell Hatton, 11-under
- T8. Chesson Hadley, 11-under
- T8. Anirban Lahiri, 11-under
- T8. Cameron Piercy, 11-under
While there were positives for some players in the race for FedEx Cup places and Tour cards, there were also negatives.
Justin Lower had a putt to retain his Tour card and get in the 125, but it slid by on 18 to dash his hopes.
Results also played out in Rickie Fowler’s favour. The Ryder Cup star started the week at 123, but came under pressure after missing the cut. There were various moments during the weekend when he was on the outside, but Fowler ended up in 125 so will be in the field for the opening FedEx Cup event at TPC Southwind next week.
Max McGreevy began the week outside at 126, but an excellent four days saw him finish at 13-under to lock up his place in the play-offs.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton set himself up superbly for the FedEx Cup play-offs with a closing round of 64 to finish at 11-under.
Will Zalatoris capped a turbulent week with a decent finish. The rising talent elected to split with his caddie in the middle of the tournament, saying their friendship was becoming frayed. After being on the brink of missing the cut, Zalatoris finished at nine-under for the tournament and will take confidence to the play-offs.
Zach Johnson won the battle of the Ryder Cup captains, as he carded a 68 to finish at seven-under. Luke Donald went round in 71 on Sunday to finish at five-under.
In his first event back from the injury that ruled him out of the Open Championship, Justin Rose set himself up for the FedEx Cup with a round of 69 to finish at five-under.
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