CNN
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South Korean Kim “Tom” Joo-Hyung became the second-youngest PGA Tour winner since World War II with a convincing victory at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.
The 20-year-old shot a nine-under 61 to earn a comfortable five-shot victory in North Carolina, making him the first player born in the 2000s to win on the Tour. Jordan Spieth, the 19-year-old John Deere Classic champion in 2015, is the only player to do so at a younger age since 1932.
Compatriot Im Sung-jae and American John Huh are tied for second at under 15.
The triumph sees Kim automatically join the Tour as a full-time member and stamp his ticket to the FedEx Cup playoffs next week, where he will compete to qualify for the Tour championship in East Lake, Atlanta in August.
After six tournaments in less than two months – including top-50 finishes at the US and British Open – the youngster’s recent frantic run is set to continue.
“I’ve been home for two weeks this year so I was like, ‘You know what? Secure my PGA Tour card for next season, I can go back and relax for a week,’ but I guess that’s not going to happen,” Kim told reporters.
“It will be my eighth week in a row if I make it to the Championship Tour. It’s a lot of golf, but I love it and I’m honored to play on the PGA Tour, it’s amazing.
It was a historic victory recorded in historic fashion as Kim, after firing a quadruple bogey on his first hole of the event, tore through the front nine on the closing day.
After shooting 67, 64, 68 on the par-70 course, the South Korean started Sunday at nine under. On the turn, he had 17 under after five birdies and an eagle on the fifth saw Kim’s 27 tie the second-lowest nine-hole score in PGA Tour history, according at the Tour.
A bogey in the 10th provided the lone blemish on the 20-year-old’s scorecard, while back-to-back birdies in the 15th and 16th put the shine on a resounding victory, all the more impressive given the disastrous start.
Kim is the first player since the PGA Tour’s hole-by-hole data tracking began in 1983 to shoot a quadruple bogey or worse on the first hole and win, according at the Tour.
“It’s crazy. I’ve never won a golf tournament starting with a quad,” Kim said.
“I said to myself from the start of the week, ‘Have fun, enjoy it, you already have your card, enjoy every moment and just have fun and don’t be too intense about it.
“But that back nine was crazy, it was probably the most intense round I’ve played. My putter was 200 pounds today, I’m not going to lie.
Asked about his nickname, Kim said he named himself as a child after the beloved fictional train, Thomas the Tank Engine. Driven by chants of “Let’s go, Tom” throughout, one of Kim’s clubs features a symbol of the famous blue train.
“You’re supposed to let your parents name you and I was like, no, I have to be called Thomas,” Kim revealed.
“I loved the show as a kid. I didn’t watch it or anything, but apparently I really loved the train…over the years people started calling me Tom , it was shorter, so I went with Tom after that.
