There’s a new Players champion and he’s barely old enough to buy a beer. 21-year-old South Korean Si Woo Kim tamed TPC Sawgrass on Sunday with a bogey-free three-under 69 to become the youngest winner of Tour’s flagship event, a record previously held by Adam Scott who won at age 23 in 2004. He also became the fourth player to win two PGA Tour events before age 22 (Woods, Garcia, Spieth.)
After carding three birdies on the front nine, Kim played defense against Pete Dye’s diabolical design, getting up and down a perfect 10 out of 10 times on the day and stringing together nine straight pars on the difficult back nine en route to a three-shot victory.
This is Kim’s second PGA Tour title and by far his biggest since turning pro at age 17. The win also earned him a five-year PGA Tour exemption, and three-year exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship. Not to mention a $1.89 million check and 600 FedEx Cup points.
“Today was a very happy day,” Kim said afterward. “I didn’t expect that I could be the champion of this tournament at this young age.”
Finishing in a tie for second was 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen, and Englishman Ian Poulter, who’s had quite an emotional few weeks since he thought he lost his Tour card, but got it back due to an oversight. He made the most of the opportunity and was in the mix down the stretch until golf happened and he inexplicably hit a self-admitted shank during his approach on the 18th hole. However, the recovery shot was equally as good as the hosel rocket was bad.
From way right to extremely tight.
The ups and downs of golf for @IanJamesPoulter.
Whew. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/Jw6q8WP4Dr
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 14, 2017
Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who magically finished 2-2-4, and 54-hole co-leader Kyle Stanley finished in a tie for fourth. World No.1 Dustin Johnson fired a four-under 68 which equaled the best round of the day and ended in a tie for 12th. Rory McIlroy, who is scheduled for an MRI on his back on Monday, finished at two-over in a tie for 35th.
Here’s a look at the final round highlights and results of the 2017 Players Championship:
Next stop on the PGA Tour: AT&T Byron Nelson TPC Four Seasons Resort, Irving, Texas
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