Wyndham Championship:
Second- and third-round leader Si Woo Kim steadied a 3-under-par 31-36=67 in the final round of the Wyndham Championship to claim his first PGA TOUR title in his 38th career start, five shots clear of runner-up Luke Donald.
The 21-year-old, a pre-tourney 100/1 outright, avenges a playoff loss five weeks ago at the opposite-field Barbasol Championship, where he shot a closing 8-under 63 to match Aaron Baddeley on 18-under 266, and then lost on the fourth hole of sudden death.
Kim’s 72-hole aggregate this week of 21-under 259 matched the tournament record set by Carl Pettersson (2008).
He began the finale with a four-shot cushion over playing competitor Rafa Cabrera Bello, his first 54-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR. The South Korean extended the lead to six at the turn with birdies on Nos. 1, 5, 8 and 9.
1- Si Woo Kim: -22 (thru nine holes)
2- Kevin Na: -16 (thru 11)
T3- Hideki Matsuyama: -15 (12)
T3- Brandt Snedeker: -15 (12)
T3- Luke Donald: -15 (10)
T3- Jim Furyk: -15 (10)
T7- Brett Stegmaier: -14 (in with 64)
After the break, Kim wobbled to bogeys on 10 (3-putt from 44’8”), 13 and 14, before a two-putt birdie-4 at 15 stopped the bleeding. Following a delay of 1 hour, 22 minutes due to inclement weather, he returned to par the 17th and capped with a walk-off 3 from 13'6" at the par-4 18th.
The South Korean landed 10 (of 14) fairways and hit 13 greens in regulation, posting 1.769 putts per GIR.
This was the 77th playing of the Wyndham Championship and 34th at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina (ninth consecutive). The 7,127-yard par-70 layout (35-35) played under-par all four rounds with a cumulative scoring average was 68.733.
Making his second appearance (MC/2013), Kim posted rounds of 68-60-64-67 for 16.090 in SG: Total. His 60 was a career low (in his 107th career round) and is a new tournament and course record, eclipsing 61 five times.
The win comes in Kim’s 30th start of the season and is his fourth top 10.
He entered the week off a missed cut at the PGA Championship (major championship debut), and a T25 at the Travelers, where he closed with twin 67s.
The Fullerton, California, resident collects 500 FedExCup (FEC) points for the win, jumping from 48th in the FEC standings to a career-best 15th.
With a Strength of Field rating of 285, Kim banked 46.00 world-ranking points, catapulting him 53 spots from 115th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to a career-best 62nd.
Besides earning a two-year exemption on TOUR, he reaps a multitude of goodies, most notably an invite to the 2017 Masters, where he’ll make his debut. Kim will also be making his debut in the FEC Playoffs.
At the age of 21 years, 1 month, 24 days, Kim becomes the youngest player to win on TOUR since Jordan Spieth won the 2015 John Deere Classic at the age of 21 years, 11 months, 15 days.
Winner’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 75 players):
Eagles: 1 (T10)
Birdies: 26 (1st)
Bogeys: 7 (T15)
Par-3 Scoring: 2.69 (T1)
Par-4 Scoring: 3.83 (T5)
Par-5 Scoring: 4.00 (T3)
Driving Distance: 306.9 yards (51st)
Driving Accuracy: 41/56 (6th) at 73.21 percent
Greens in Regulation: 60/72 (T8) at 83.33 percent
Proximity to Hole: 24’11” (1st)
Putts per GIR: 1.633 (2nd)
Total Putts: 113 (T5); by round: 29-26-29-29
Scrambling: 7/12 (T40) at 58.33 percent
SG: Off-the-Tee: 5.849 (1st)
SG: Approach-the-Green: 9.161 (2nd)
SG: Around-the-Green: 0.360 (42nd)
SG: Tee-to-Green: 15.371 (1st)
SG: Putting: 0.720 (34th)
Golf Channel Perfect Picks ($2,127,440):
Group 1: Brandt Snedeker; Hideki Matsuyama (T3): $324,800
Group 2: Luke Donald (2nd): $604,800
Group 3: Si Woo Kim (Won): $1,008,000
Group 4: Brett Stegmaier (T5): $189,840
Beginning with the Hyundai TOC (Jan 7-10), there were 31 Golf Channel games this regular season that were divided into GROUPS – PLUS the WGC-Dell Match Play (bracket), for a TOTAL of 32 events.
If you want to do some quick math, you can divide your Money Total by 32 to get your average results per event.
Of the 31 by GROUPS, Kim is the seventh champion to emerge from Group 3.
Other Group 3 Winners: Fabian Gomez (Sony Open); Jim Herman (Shell Houston Open); James Hahn (Wells Fargo); William McGirt (Memorial); Jhonattan Vegas (RBC Canadian Open); Jimmy Walker (PGA Championship).
Draw:
In total, 76 players from a field of 156 made the cut of 3-under 137:
41 (of 77) EARLY/late (1 WD)
35 (of 77) LATE/early (1 WD)
NOTE: Spencer Levin made the cut at 4-under 68-68=136, but WD (personal reasons) prior to R3.
Of the FIVE top-finishers in Golf Channel, TWO were EARLY/late, and THREE were LATE/early, including the champion.
Si Woo Kim (Won): LATE/early
Brandt Snedeker (T3): LATE/early
Brett Stegmaier (T5): LATE/early
Luke Donald (2nd): EARLY/late
Hideki Matsuyama (T3): EARLY/late
NOTE: The past SIX winners of the Wyndham have ALL been LATE/early (write that down somewhere).
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: Rafa Cabrera Bello; Kevin Na (63)
R2: Si Woo Kim (60) *tournament and course record
R3: Scott Langley (62)
R4: Kevin Kisner (63)
What We Learned:
The pre-tourney odds-favorites have won just TWICE this season thru 42 events and Jordan Spieth has both of them, winning the Hyundai TOC and the DEAN & DELUCA.
Patrick Reed: The four-time TOUR winner claimed his maiden title here in 2013 (playoff), and finished T24 defending in 2014 (he did not play last year).
Overall, the 26-year-old was making his fourth appearance and was the pre-tourney odds-fave at 16/1, arriving off a back-door T11 at the Rio Olympics (72-69-73-64).
He barely made the weekend (66-71), birdieing his final three holes in R2 to make the cut on the number, culminated by a walk-off 29-footer for birdie-3 at the 18th.
The Texan rode that momentum to a 64 on Moving Day, matching his best at Sedgefield CC (R2/2013), to begin the final round T18, NINE back of Kim.
He sputtered to a four-birdie three-bogey 69, dropping four spots to T22.
Reed has nine top 10s this season in 24 starts, but none in his last seven. He did add his fourth straight top-25 finish, totaling 14, and begins the Playoffs seventh in the FEC standings. He is the top-ranked player in FEC points of those without a win.
Luke Donald: The 38-year-old fashioned a 3-under-par 32-35=67 in the final round to wrap his fifth appearance on 16-under 264, up one spot to solo second, five in arrears to the champion.
Donald’s runner-up is his 15th in 308 career events (303 as a pro), and second this season, joining a T2 at the RBC Heritage, his ONLY other top 10 in 2015-16. He was chasing his sixth TOUR title, first since the 2012 Transitions Championship.
The Englishman began the final round in a three-way T3 on 13-under, five back of 54-hole leader Kim. Playing out of the penultimate twosome, he mustered just six (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation, circling five birdies against two bogeys. For the week, he was 74th (of 75) in SG: Off-the-Tee (-3.403), but was No. 1 in SG: Approach-the-Green with a dazzling 14.004.
Donald connected four red numbers for the first time this season (20 starts), and first time since a previous-best T26 here LAST YEAR. He enters his ninth Playoffs at 48th in the FEC standings, up 51 spots on the week.
Donald was buoyed by a hole-in-one at the 163-yard par-3 16th (9-iron) in the first round, his first career ace on TOUR in 1,043 career rounds.
There were 28 first-timers at the Wyndham and 15 of a now 20 PGA TOUR rookies:
Graeme McDowell: The 37-year-old carved out a 2-under-par 32-36=68 in the final round and tied for top debutant with T5 on 14-under 266 (68-66-64-68).
It’s his fifth top 10 of the season in 18 starts, first since T9 at THE PLAYERS six starts ago. The Ulsterman arrived off consecutive missed cuts at the RBC Canadian Open (75-76) and the PGA Championship (74-75).
He entered the week 33rd in the FEC standings, a drastic improvement from last year where he finished 160th, missing the Playoffs for just a second time (2010).
In McDowell’s first start this season, he added another tournament debut, the OHL Classic, which he won in a playoff for his third TOUR title, first since a playoff win at the 2013 RBC Heritage.
That led to a third-place finish the following week (RSM), later adding solo fifth at The Honda Classic. Overall, he’s made 10 cuts with six of those top 25s, and has missed eight cuts.
McDowell climbed six places to 27th in FEC points and will be making his fifth appearance in the Playoffs. In 10 career Playoffs events, his best finish is T34 at the 2012 BMW Championship.
Brett Stegmaier: For the fourth time this season, the 33-year-old was top rookie, but shares the honor this time with Rafa Cabrera Bello (more on him below).
He also tied for top debutant (with McDowell) following a career-low bogey-free 6-under-par 31-33=64 in the final round to post 14-under 266, vaulting 20 places to T5.
After opening rounds of 66-67-69, he circled six birdies for a third straight lap en route to a career best in his 91st career round, supplanting 66 (x3).
The Connecticut native nets his third top 10 of the season in 28 starts, joining T9 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic and T2 at the Shriners Hospitals back in October. He jumped 18 places to 101st in the FEC standings.
Rafa Cabrera Bello: The 32-year-old was making his 10th start of the season, thus becoming rookie-eligible, and tied for low-rookie honors (with Stegmaier).
In the field on a sponsor invite, he co-led with a bogey-free 63 in the opener, chasing with 68-65 to begin the finale in solo second, four shy of Kim.
Playing out of the final twosome, the Spaniard backed up with an even-par 37-33=70 to wrap his second appearance (MC/2014) on 14-under 266, down three places into a five-way T5, a distant seven back of the champion.
It’s his third top 10 of the season, all doubling as top 5s, and arrived off a T5 at the Rio Olympics. Cabrera Bello finished No. 1 in non-member FEC points with 655 (87 points ahead of Byeong Hun An), which would slot him 79th in the FEC standings among members.
Trending:
Hideki Matsuyama: The 24-year-old signed for a 3-under-par 33-34=67 after the final round to reach 15-under 265, good for a two-way T3, up three places on the day.
It’s his second-best finish of the season (P1, WM Phoenix Open), seventh top 10 in 19 starts, and second straight top 5 (T4, PGA Championship).
Matsuyama was making his fourth appearance and deposits his second check, brushing aside a previous best of solo 15th on debut in 2013. He opened in 66 and a season-low 64, concluding with 68-67.
Prior to his T4 at the PGA Championship, Matsuyama had missed three cuts in four starts, cashing a pedestrian T42 at the no-cut WGC-Bridgestone. During this mini-rut, he posted just one red number in 10 rounds and was a cumulative 32-over-par.
Inclusive of the T4 at the PGA, Matsuyama has now connected eight straight sub-par rounds, cumulatively 24-under-par, and will kick off his third straight appearance in the Playoffs at No. 12 in the FEC standings, up seven places on the week.
He’s made it through to the TOUR Championship in both prior appearances and in eight career Playoffs events, has four top-20 finishes with a best of T7 at the 2015 BMW Championship.
Johnson Wagner: The Charlotte, North Carolina, resident carved out a 3-under-par 33-34=67 in the final round to wrap his eighth appearance on 14-under 266 (66-68-65-67), up five places to T5.
It’s his second straight top-5 finish (T5, John Deere) and his third top 10 of the season in 24 starts. The 36-year-old entered the John Deere 125th in the FEC standings and climbed 16 places to 109th, and gains another 17 spots this week to enter his seventh Playoffs 92nd in FEC points.
In 13 previous Playoffs events, he has no top-10 finishes with a best of T15 at the Deutsche Bank in 2008. Wagner’s T5 this week was his first top 10 at the Wyndham and supplants a previous-best T20 on debut in 2007.
Honorable Mention:
Despite a pair of disappointing even-par 70s to close, first-round co-leader Kevin Na (63-67-67-70) and Jim Furyk (66-64-67-70) both held on for T10s, and will each enter the Playoffs off back-to-back top-10 finishes.
Furyk’s 70 was slightly more disappointing out of the penultimate twosome, dropping three shots over his final four holes, including a walk-off double bogey-6.
Na played his final seven holes in birdie-less 3-over, squaring Nos. 12, 15 and 18.
One additional note on Na:
He and his wife are expecting their first baby on September 1st, so that’s something to keep an eye on. The Barclays is scheduled August 25th to the 28th, and the Deutsche Bank is September 2nd- 5th.
Na has room to play with at No. 9 in the FEC standings while Furyk has less, but enters a more than respectable 94th on just 12 starts.
Top 10 Performers Weekly Stats:
Wyndham Championship | |||||||
Player | |||||||
306.9 (51) | 73.21% (6) | 83.33% (T8) | 24' 11" (1) | 58.33% (T40) | .180 (34) | 7/ 38; 18.42% (21) | |
303.5 (60) | 58.93% (T49) | 76.39% (T34) | 25' 7" (2) | 82.35% (1) | -.314 (57) | 5/ 35; 14.29% (39) | |
308.5 (47) | 50.00% (T70) | 73.61% (T47) | 33' 9" (T65) | 63.16% (25) | 1.820 (3) | 11/ 42; 26.19% (3) | |
322.3 (9) | 76.79% (4) | 84.72% (T5) | 26' 8" (T3) | 81.82% (2) | -.059 (48) | 9/ 45; 20.00% (T10) | |
297.4 (69) | 60.71% (T40) | 77.78% (T28) | 30' 9" (T30) | 56.25% (T51) | 1.184 (9) | 10/ 47; 21.28% (T6) | |
311.1 (34) | 60.71% (T40) | 79.17% (T21) | 28' 11" (T13) | 60.00% (T31) | 1.685 (4) | 14/ 50; 28.00% (1) | |
311.0 (T35) | 60.71% (T40) | 69.44% (T67) | 32' 3" (T51) | 72.73% (8) | 1.633 (5) | 5/ 37; 13.51% (43) | |
321.1 (10) | 60.71% (T40) | 77.78% (T28) | 31' 1" (T34) | 68.75% (T12) | .967 (T10) | 6/ 46; 13.04% (T46) | |
319.0 (15) | 58.93% (T49) | 80.56% (T14) | 29' 10" (T22) | 42.86% (69) | .775 (18) | 8/ 48; 16.67% (T27) | |
310.1 (40) | 78.57% (3) | 87.50% (T1) | 29' 8" (T19) | 55.56% (T54) | .239 (33) | 3/ 50; 6.00% (74) | |
304.8 (T57) | 57.14% (T57) | 83.33% (T8) | 29' 3" (T16) | 58.33% (T40) | .819 (15) | 11/ 52; 21.15% (8) | |
307.5 (49) | 69.64% (T7) | 79.17% (T21) | 29' 9" (21) | 46.67% (67) | .967 (T10) | 8/ 45; 17.78% (23) | |
320.6 (12) | 57.14% (T57) | 76.39% (T34) | 31' 7" (T42) | 58.82% (T37) | 2.005 (1) | 10/ 47; 21.28% (T6) | |
Tour Average | 309.2 | 58.90% | 73.74% | 32' 7" | 56.04% | N/A | 726/ 5,306; 13.68% |
Source: PGA TOUR Media
Up Next:
The TOUR heads to Farmingdale, New York, for The Barclays at the 7,468-yard par-71 (36-35) Bethpage State Park (Black).
Current World No. 1 Jason Day was last year’s winner (as world No. 3) at Plainfield CC in Edison, New Jersey, collecting his fourth (of five) TOUR titles in 2015. Nick Watney (not in the field) was the winner in 2012, the only other time the Playoffs event was held at Bethpage.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and opinions as the TOUR puts the regular season in the rearview mirror and readies for the four-event FEC Playoffs.
