GREENSBORO, NC (AP) – The last five weeks feels like three months to 20-year-old Joohyung “Tom” Kim, and for good reason.
The South Korean kid who named himself after a cartoon train is on the fast track. He got a rare PGA Tour start in the Scottish Open because of his standing on a Korean tour points list, hopeful of doing well enough to get a shot at the Korn Ferry Tour finals.
Now he’s a PGA Tour winner who is No 21 in the world and headed to the FedEx Cup playoffs, and he can probably count on a spot with the International team at the Presidents Cup. “It’s been a crazy month,” Kim said.
He announced his arrival on the PGA Tour at the Wyndham Championship, where he began the tournament with a quadruple-bogey 8 and finished it with a 9-under 61 for a five-shot victory.
“I’m really, really happy for Tom,” said Sungjae Im, who completed the rain-delayed third round on Sunday morning with a one-shot lead and couldn’t keep up with Kim, because no one could. Kim shot 27 on the front nine that left everyone in his wake.
“He’s a great kid and to come out here and to win on tour as a nonmember and secure your card is really not an easy task and he achieved that,” Im said.
Kim, who turned 20 in June, is the second-youngest winner on the PGA Tour since World War II. Jordan Spieth was two weeks away from turning 20 when he won 2013 John Deere Classic. The victory gave Kim instant membership on the PGA Tour, making him eligible for the FedEx Cup playoffs that start next week.
