Kim Juhyung Co-Leader "‘Special Temporary Member’ Victory GO~"... Im Sungjae ‘1 Stroke Behind Tied 4th’ (Summary)

Final Day of Regular Season Wyndham Championship: Exciting 6-Under, Moore and Woo Tied for Lead, John Hur and Henry Tied for 4th

Kim Joo-hyung is teeing off on the 13th hole on the second day of the Wyndham Championship. Greensboro, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is the winning opportunity for ‘special temporary member’ Kim Joo-hyung (20).

On the 6th (Korean time), at the Greensboro Sedgefield Golf Club (par 70, 7,131 yards) in North Carolina, USA, during the second day of the final regular season event of the 2021/2022 PGA Tour, the Wyndham Championship (total prize money $7.3 million), Kim surged with a 6-under-par round to take the top spot on the leaderboard at 9-under-par 131. Ryan Moore and Brandon Wu shared the lead, while John Huh and Russell Henley (both from the USA), and Im Sung-jae (24) were tied for 4th place at 8-under-par 132. Due to bad weather followed by sunset, some players were unable to complete their rounds.

Starting from a tie for 23rd place, 6 strokes behind, Kim Joo-hyung made 7 birdies and 1 bogey. Although he started shakily with a bogey on the 12th hole (par 3), he immediately recovered with a birdie on the 13th hole (par 4), then secured ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 15th and 17th holes. In the back nine, he showed a fierce finishing kick with a birdie on the 2nd hole (par 4) and a streak of three consecutive birdies from the 6th to the 8th holes. His long drives of up to 336 yards and putting were outstanding, with a Strokes Gained Putting of 4.58 strokes.

Kim Joo-hyung has effectively secured his PGA Tour card for next season. Although he is a special temporary member and does not appear on the official FedEx Cup rankings, he is currently ranked 103rd. The PGA Tour grants full tour cards to players ranked up to 125th in the FedEx Cup standings for the next season. Kim entered the ‘dream stage’ after playing only eight events since the CJ Cup last October. Tiger Woods (USA) also earned a direct ticket to the PGA Tour by achieving good results in PGA Tour events without going through qualifying school or the secondary tour.

"I played comfortably today as well, and my shots were stable," said Kim Joo-hyung. "My putting was good, which I think led to a good result. I hope to continue playing comfortably like this for the remaining two days," he cheered. He added, "After a quadruple bogey on the first hole yesterday, I played well over the next 35 holes to finish the second round at 9-under-par. If I keep a relaxed mindset for the remaining two days, I believe I will achieve good results."

Im Sung-jae is reading the putting line on the 12th hole on the second day of the Wyndham Championship. Greensboro, USA=Getty images/Multibits

Im Sung-jae recorded 4 birdies and 3 bogeys. He is eyeing his second win of the season and third overall. John Huh, who was the leader the previous day, lost one stroke and faltered. Strong contender Billy Horschel (USA) is tied for 25th place at 4-under-par 136. South Korea’s Kim Si-woo (27) is tied for 39th at 3-under-par 137, and Lee Kyung-hoon (31) is tied for 50th at 2-under-par 138, both advancing to the third round. However, Kang Sung-hoon (35) was cut off, tied for 101st at 1-over-par 141.