Whee

Kim

Kim finished T8 at the Zurich Classic back in his 2015 debut when it was an individual event. Now it’s a team tournament and Kim has paired with the young phenom Im, who will be making his tournament debut. Kim’s recent form is a bit concerning as he enters with 10 straight finishes of T71 (PR Open) or worse. He has a mid-tourney WD and a pre-tourney WD in that stretch, which suggests this slump may be injury related. At full health this team is a formidable duo but Kim’s recent form makes them a bit of a long shot this week at TPC Lousiana.

Kim posted rounds of 75-72=147 (+3) in his PLAYERS debut last year to miss the cut. More recently, he’s finished T71 or worse in nine straight starts, so perhaps there is a bit of a nagging injury involved here. There was no injury cited at the time of WD but that’s the likely culprit, given the huge prize purse he’s taking a pass on this week. Gamers should wait for a clean bill of health before reinvesting in Kim.

This is the 26-year-old’s third mid-tourney WD in 119 events, first since the 2017 Quicken Loans National. As of press time, no reason has been furnished. The South Korean was 6-over thru 17 holes, 4-over total (opened with 2-under 69), four swings shy of the projected cut line. The Genesis is the 15th event of the season and he was making his 12th start, mired in a months-long-slide. Kim opened with five straight made cuts, ending the run with a season-best T10 at Mayakoba, but has since missed six cuts in a row -- this would’ve been his seventh. He is in the published field for next week’s opposite-field event in Puerto Rico.

Kim has been cruising lately. He was inside the top 5 after R1 and R2 of the Shriners. Then last week at Mayakoba he was inside the top 3 after R2 and R3 before finishing T10. He carried that momentum into Georgia as he split 10 (of 14) fairways and landed 14 greens today. His three previous visits to this event resulted in finishes of T86, T27, and Missed Cut. Making his 113th career start, Kim is still searching for his first TOUR title but it could be just over the horizon, given his stellar play as of late.

This was the South Korean’s fourth Mayakoba, third cash, and supplants a previous-best T45 last year where he was T14 thru 54 holes. He improves to 5-for-5 on the season with one top 25, bettering a T33 at the Safeway. After opening with 68-63-66, the 26-year-old began in solo 2nd, four back of Kuchar, and mustered eight (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation. He conjured two birdies at holes 3 and 7, cancelled by two bogey-5s at 2 and 12, posting 1.818 putts per GIR. For the week, the Dallas resident totaled 21 birdies against five bogeys.

The 26-year-old is eyeing his first PGA TOUR title in 112 events and if he crosses the goal line, will better three runner-up finishes, most recently a T2 at the 2018 RBC Canadian Open. After kicking off with 68-63, he began in a seven-way T3 and hit 11 (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation. The South Korean, who lives in Dallas, carded five birdies at holes 5, 7-9 and 15, posting 1.643 putts per GIR. He’ll play out of the final threesome in R4, one week after playing out of the final threesome in R3 at the Shriners, where he was T2 at the midpoint but fell out of contention with a 6-over 77.

Kim split nine (of 14) fairways for the second day in a row. He landed 15 greens in R1 en route to five birdies and two bogeys. Kim found one fewer green today but managed nine birdies while dropping just one shot along the way. He needed just 24 putts to make his way around El Camaleon GC today. After the round he cited his familiarity with the layout as he makes his fourth appearance here. Kim has improved upon each visit (MC --> T63 --> T45). At 131 through 36 holes, this falls one shy of his career-best aggregate at the midpoint (130, 2018 Greenbrier).

Kim was a pre-tourney 125/1 outright last year and finished 4th (68-70-72-72) after being T6 and T5 thru 36 and 54 holes, respectively. He was the only top-10 finisher of 17 Koreans in the 78-man field and jumped 60 spots to a career-best 145th in OWGR. The Dallas resident checked in last year off a T54 (Safeway) and T39 (CIMB), and has similar form this year with T59 (CIMB) and T33 (Safeway). He ended last season a career-best 72nd in the FedExCup standings with just three top 10s in 30 events but two of those were runners-up at the Canadian Open and the Shriners as a first-round leader.

Kim orchestrated this low round by splitting 13 (of 14) fairways on his way toward 17 greens. All those chances eventually led to birdies, with three of them coming from long distance (outside 17 feet). That helped him gain 2.733 strokes putting to reach 4.602 SG:Putting on the week, currently sitting at 4th in the field. Success at TPC Summerlin is nothing new for Kim as he was the solo first-round leader here last year and ultimately lost to Patrick Cantlay in a playoff. The 26-year-old has five career podium finishes but is still missing that victory on his resume.