Tied 50th in PO Round 1, Failed to Advance to Round 2
Matsuyama Becomes First Asian Player with 10 Career Wins
Ahn Byung-hoon, Im Sung-jae, Kim Si-woo Secure Round 2 Tickets
Kim Joo-hyung narrowly missed advancing to the second round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs (PO) on the PGA Tour.
On the 18th (local time), at the PO first round FedEx St. Jude Championship (total prize money $20 million) held at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee (par 70, 7,243 yards), Kim lost one stroke and dropped to a tie for 50th place (1-under 279). Before the tournament, Kim was ranked 43rd in the FedEx Cup standings but slipped to 51st after a disappointing performance in the first round of the PO. Only the top 50 in the FedEx Cup rankings qualify for the second round BMW Championship (August 22-25), so he missed the cut.
Kim started tied for 39th and recorded four birdies, one bogey, and two double bogeys. He maintained a position within the top 20 by securing four birdies over 15 holes. However, he faltered with a bogey on the 16th hole (par 4) followed by consecutive double bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes. His ranking quickly dropped into the 50th range, ending his season early. This year, he played in 23 tournaments without a win but achieved two top-10 finishes. His personal best was a tie for second place at the Travelers Championship in June.
Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) did not improve his score but secured a two-stroke victory (17-under 263). This marked his 10th career win, six months after his February victory at the Genesis Invitational, earning $3.6 million (approximately 4.9 billion KRW) in prize money. By winning the Genesis Invitational, he surpassed K.J. Choi (eight wins) to become the Asian player with the most PGA Tour victories, and with this win, he became the first Asian golfer to reach 10 wins.
Matsuyama Hideki is teeing off on the 13th hole of the 4th round at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. [Memphis=AFP·Yonhap News]
In 2021, Matsuyama became the first Asian Masters champion. After winning a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he faced adversity when his caddie and coach had their passports stolen while traveling from France to the U.S., preventing them from accompanying him to this tournament. Nevertheless, he demonstrated resilience by adding another trophy to his collection.
Zander Schauffele (USA), who secured two major wins this year, surged with a 7-under round to finish tied for second place (15-under 265). Last year's FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland (Norway) was also in this group. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) improved by four strokes to finish fourth (14-under 266). Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) struggled, finishing tied for 68th (9-over 289).
Among Koreans, An Byeong-hun posted the best result by shooting one under par to finish tied for 33rd (4-under 276). He is ranked 16th in the FedEx Cup standings. Im Sung-jae finished tied for 40th (3-under 277), and Kim Si-woo ended tied for 50th. Im is ranked 11th and Kim 44th in the FedEx Cup standings, comfortably qualifying for the second round of the PO. To compete in the final PO event, the Tour Championship starting on the 29th, players must be ranked within the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings.
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