Grades: Kim, 21, runs away with first PGA Tour win at Wyndham Championship
Si Woo Kim took the final event of the season but there was plenty of other drama, too
Earlier this week after South Korean Si Woo Kim dropped a 60 in the second round to take the lead at the Wyndham Championship, he was asked how he would celebrate.
"Not so much celebrate today," Kim said. "After this week, play good, I celebrate."
Time to celebrate.
Putting the exclamation mark on his first victory.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 21, 2016
Si Woo Kim is a PGA TOUR winner. #QuickHitshttps://t.co/faeL13Ocj3
Kim, 21, touched off his first PGA Tour win with a 3-under 67 in the final round at Sedgefield Country Club to follow up a 68-60-64 start. He finished at 21 under for the week and won by five strokes over Luke Donald and six over Hideki Matsuyama and Brandt Snedeker. It got tight for a bit down the back nine as Kim's lead waned to three, but Kim was able to open it back up at the end and cruise home to the $1 million plus first prize.
Kim played the last three seasons on the Web.com Tour but has been terrific in his first full year on the PGA Tour. He'd made nearly $2 million and was easily in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup points race even before taking home the trophy this week.
He's in the zone.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 21, 2016
Leader by 5. #QuickHitshttps://t.co/FRVyTcZy0S
His swing is downright sublime, and despite three bogeys on the back nine on Sunday, Kim finished No. 1 in the field in tee-to-green performance. He's also the youngest PGA Tour winner ever from Asia and the youngest international winner on the PGA Tour since 1978, according to Justin Ray of Golf Channel.
It was a heady performance from someone who, at 21, has had a successful first tour on the big boy tour. Now he gets to stick around for two more seasons. Grade: A+
Shawn Stefani: Made birdie on the final hole from seven feet to keep his PGA Tour card for 2016-17. Only finished T14 but nearly broke down after the round. This is the beauty of the final regular season events for grinders like Stefani.
"This game doesn't owe anybody anything," said Stefani. "Only hard work will get you to where you want to be and can't say I worked real hard in the offseason. My wife and I enjoyed it. I kind of halfway through the year like 'okay, it's time to get going and started working really hard and working on the mental side, too, and just paid off.' I wasn't a great college player. I had to earn my way the hard way, mini tours, 15 hour drives, driving across the country and, you know, it means more to me to keep my card than it does to some of the other guys who have won because I've gone the hard road for the game." Grade: A+
Jim Furyk: Furyk had a real chance to catch Kim late in the day on Sunday but made bogey at the eagle-able No. 15 and finished T10. He will likely have a few more chances to impress captain Davis Love III as Love doesn't have to make his final captain's pick until the end of September. Grade: A-
Brandt Snedeker: With the Ryder Cup hanging in the balance, Snedeker went 65-67 on the weekend and will likely jump back into the top eight in the Ryder Cup standings after finishing T3. That's big-time stuff from an American veteran.
"I want to be on that team," said Snedeker. "I love playing Ryder Cups. I love Davis. I want to be there representing the United States so I'm going to use that as motivation to go out there and work hard and grind my tail off the next three days." Grade: A
Hideki Matsuyama: We think putting is affecting Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson. The real culprit is Matsuyama, who finished outside the top 50 in putting again this week and once again posted a top-five finish. If he ever figures that out, Jason Day and Jordan Spieth are going to have a real problem on their hands. Grade: A
Hideki has finished three tournaments on the PGA Tour in 2016 with a positive strokes gained putting. Results: 1st. T6, T7.
— Adam Sarson (@Adam_Sarson) August 21, 2016
















