Joo-Hyung Kim of Seoul, South Korea has won his first tournament on the PGA Tour. On Sunday, the 20-year-old won the 2022 Wyndham Championship, and became the youngest player ever to win the title.
Just how significant in a historical context was Kim’s victory on Sunday? According to Kevin Skiver of the Sporting News on Sunday, Kim became the second youngest player to win a PGA Tour event since WWII. The youngest was Jordan Spieth of Dallas, Texas who won the 2013 John Deere Classic at the age of 19. Nine years ago, Spieth won a memorable five-hole playoff over Canadian David Hearn and American Zach Johnson right before the 2013 British Open.
Kim also became the first golfer born in the 2000s to win on the PGA Tour. He was born on June 21, 2002.
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Kim’s front nine on Sunday was also significant. He posted a score of 27, the second best score ever by a golfer on the front nine in PGA Tour history. The lowest front nine score ever belongs to Corey Pavin of Oxnard, California, who shot a 26. The 1995 United States Open champion accomplished the feat in winning the 2006 United States Bank Championship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Interestingly, it was Pavin’s final PGA Tour victory at the age of 46. Pavin was 26 years older than Kim was on Sunday.
In the final round, Kim’s front nine was legendary. He had birdies on the second, third, fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth holes, and eagled the fifth hole. Kim finished the tournament with a score of -20 and beat South Korea’s Sungjae Im and American John Huh by five strokes.
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