Kim Si-woo (26) is back.
On the 25th (Korean time), Siwoo Kim hit 8 under par 64 in the final round of the American Professional Golf (PGA) Tour American Express ($6.7 million in prize money) held at the PGA West Stadium Course (par 72) in La Quinta, CA, USA, for 4 rounds. Won the championship with 23 under par 265 strokes.
It is a splendid achievement that has quenched the thirst for winning the championship that lasted for 3 years and 8 months.
Siwoo Kim passed the PGA Tour Qualifying School in 2012 at the age of 17.
He is the youngest passer of the PGA Tour Qualifying School that is now gone. He was a golf prodigy of’boys’.
Kim Si-woo, who won the first PGA Tour at the 2016 Wyndham Championship, won the’Fifth Major’ Players Championship in 2017.
The Players Championship is a 5-year PGA Tour Card and a three-year guarantee of participation in major competitions such as the US Open, Masters, and Open.
The future of Siwoo Kim, who also jumped to 28th in the world ranking, seemed to be unfolding brightly.
However, for Kim Si-woo, the rosy future was not as open as expected.
The biggest stumbling block was a persistent back injury. The bulging back and back pain caught Kim Si-woo’s ankle.
One day before the tournament, I abstained from the tournament, or I was unable to play properly because of pain after participating in the tournament.
In the 2017-2018 season, Si-woo Kim ranked 55th in the FedEx rankings with 5 times in the top 10 including runners-up and 3rd place in the 2017-2018 season, and also ranked 46th in the FedEx rankings with 5th in the top 10 in the 2018-2019 season.
The 2019-2020 season, which was disrupted due to the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), ended in the top 10 in the FedEx ranking at 80.
It wasn’t a very bad grade, but it was clearly far from the expected result.
As he did not perform as expected, he also developed impatience.
There were several chances of winning, but there were two times when he ran in an impatient heart and was defeated on the last day.
Although I made changes such as adjusting the swing and changing the putter, the situation was still frustrating in the 2020-2021 season, which started in September.
Following the elimination of the US Open Cut, there was only one top 10 prize.
Suddenly, the role of a Korean player playing an active part in the PGA Tour was passed on to junior Im Seong-jae (23).
Kim Si-woo, who finished the Masters in November last year, returned home from his winter training in Dallas, Texas, USA.
Kim Si-woo, who volunteered the burden of self-isolation for two weeks, took a rest in Korea. He didn’t just rest, but he escaped from the time he had locked himself back and forth between the field and the practice range.
And in the new year, he received a tie for 25th in his first contest. With the 15th place in the green hit rate (86.7%), auger iron shots began to return.
Kim Si-woo confessed, “It was a great help to rest in Korea.”
Before this competition, Siwoo Kim said he had a lot of conversations with his coach Claude Harman.
Coach Harman instilled confidence in Si-Woo Kim, saying, “Your shot is good, so you can win anytime.”
He also asked him not to be impatient and wait for an opportunity.
Before the final round, he was nervous enough to be unable to sleep, but Kim Si-woo stood like a rock following this advice.
In the beginning, Kim Si-woo was calm even in the scuffle with Tony Pinau (USA). Pinau, who took the lead first, took the lead, but when the opportunity came, they immediately caught up and passed before the end of the first half.
Every time I look at the scoreboard, the number of birdies of Patrick Cantley (USA), ranked 10th in the world, was added, but there was no change in Kim Siwoo’s expression.
In the last three holes played after Cantlay finished the game with the first stroke, Siwoo Kim dropped the tee shot to the exact point he wanted. All three times, he created a birdie chance, and caught 2 birdies from the necessary holes.
Kim Si-woo was the number one green hit rate (81.94%) in the 4th round of American Express.
However, the weapon that led Kim Si-Woo’s victory in the fourth round was not shaken by Pinau and slugs and Cantle’s pursuit rather than these awl irons.
Siwoo Kim returned with a stronger body and stronger mental power.
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