Chan

Kim

It will mark the fourth U.S. Open appearance for Griffin, who’s No. 104 in the world rankings and finished T-35 last year at Torrey Pines and T-43 at Winged Foot in 2020. Thirteen (of 106) players earned spots into next week’s championship at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., including world No. 86 Davis Riley (69-63), Chris Naegel (65-69), amateur Sam Bennett (69-66), PGA Tour winner Danny Lee (65-70), Adam Schenk (69-66), Denny McCarthy (69-67), Joel Dahmen (71-66), Patrick Rodgers (70-67), Andrew Putnam (68-69) and Wyndham Clark (70-67). Hayden Buckley secured the final available spot via a 5-for-1 playoff, with Sweden’s Davis Lingmerth finishing as first alternate and Canada’s Adam Svensson as second alternate. Among notable names failing to qualify at this site are Cameron Champ, Ryan Palmer, Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello, 2009 U.S. Open champ Lucas Glover, Luke Donald and Jason Dufner.

Kim racked up his sixth and seventh career wins in 2021. Both wins came on the Japan Golf Tour which is where he has primarily set up shop since 2015. Kim has now won at least one event per year for the past four years. He’s also been inside of the top 100 in the OWGR at the end of four straight years, as well. That continues to earn him coveted spots in WGCs and majors. Kim also recently posted a T15 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last fall. That was the second-best finish of his PGA TOUR career (T11/2017 Open Championship). The 31-year-old will continue to be a viable option for weekly fantasy gamers but with a majority of his starts coming in Japan, he’s not a factor in season-long leagues.

The Arizona State product arrives with top 15s in five of his last six starts on the Japan Golf Tour. That includes a win at the Vantelin Tokai Classic. The 31-year-old now has six career wins on the Japanese circuit. That comfort in the country should help him this week as he preps for the ZOZO, the only PGA TOUR event played in Japan. How has Kim fared during his previous appearances on the big stage? He is 8-for-14 with five of those “cuts made” coming in no-cut events. The highlights of his TOUR starts include a T11 at the 2017 Open Championship and a T23 at the 2021 PGA Championship. His ability to post top 25s in major championships is a good indicator of upside, making him a suitable sleeper candidate in weekly fantasy formats.

As we mentioned early in the week, Kim was set to return for the first time since week one of December. He withdrew after a 12-over 82 in R1 of the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup. There was no further information provided on the mystery WD and prolonged break from playing. We now know it’s a wrist injury, at least that is the reason cited for this WD. Kim was set to go off at 1:15 p.m. local time but Gavin Green and Shubhankar Sharma will now play as a twosome.

The 27-year-old earned his spot winning a 6-for-3 playoff at the Ono City, Japan, qualifier. He plays primarily on the Asian and Japan tours, registering his first win (by five shots) three weeks and two starts ago at the Mizuno Open on the JGTO. The former Arizona State golfer was born in Korea, but grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, and currently resides in Gilbert, Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. In his last 24 starts in Asia, he has five top 10s, highlighted by the win, which qualified him for this year’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

Kim won the Mizuno Open in late May to punch his ticket to this event, part of The Open Qualifying Series. The Japan Golf Tour is where he spends his time but he recently qualified for the U.S. Open before missing the cut. That experience may have been good for him as he returned to his home tour and won the next event (SEGA SAMMY Cup). Today, it was all about ball-striking for Kim, who pelted 13 greens in regulation, despite the heavy winds that whipped from 15-to-40 MPH throughout the round. That stellar striking led to four birdies which easily offset a pair of bogeys. This was one of just eight rounds recorded in red numbers today, beating the field average by 6.03 strokes. Kim rose 69 spots on the leaderboard up to a share of 10th place, placing him in rare territoy as he finds himself in contention during his Open Championship debut.

On a leaderboard that features a lot of firepower at the top, Kim provides a nice story for anyone looking to root for the underdog. Kim was ranked 561st in the world before winning two events on the Japan Golf Tour over the last three months. He now ranks 170th in Official World Golf Ranking. Playing his first weekend round at a major championship, gamers may have expected a fall down the leaderboard, but Kim had other plans. He pelted 13 greens in regulation, circling five birdies today. The 27-year-old could have a life-changing Sunday if he maintains this pace, but regardless of how he finishes tomorrow, this is a week he’ll remember for a long time.

Kim’s most recent start came in the first week of December. He posted a 12-over 82 before calling it quits at the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup. That was the season-ending event on the Japan Golf Tour but he didn’t make a start at either of the first two starts of the 2018 campaign. He also withdrew from a start at the beginning of November. His WD may have been injury-related after all, but there is no further information on that front. The Arizona State product is in this week’s field through his finish on the Japan Golf Tour’s order of merit last year (2nd on the OoM). Given the recent WDs, there is a lot of risk for gamers wanting to take a shot on Kim.