AdventHealth Championship: Wins by Three Strokes
Virtually Secures Tour Card as No. 1 in Points Ranking
Hale Finishes Second, Noh Seungyul 10th, Lee Seungtaek 16th
Sung Hyun Kim has claimed his first victory on the Korn Ferry (second-tier) Tour of the PGA in the United States.
Sung Hyun Kim (right) is being showered with congratulatory water by Seung Taek Lee immediately after winning the Conperi Tour AdventHealth Championship. Kansas City=AFP Yonhap News Photo by AFP
On May 18 (local time), at the Blue Hills Country Club (par 72, 7,383 yards) in Kansas City, Missouri, Kim shot a 1-under-par 71 in the final fourth round of the Korn Ferry Tour AdventHealth Championship (total prize money $1 million), winning by three strokes with a total of 20-under-par 268. With his first victory on the Korn Ferry Tour, Kim earned a winner's prize of $180,000 (about 250 million won).
In 2022, Kim finished 12th in the Korn Ferry Tour points ranking and was promoted to the PGA Tour. However, after finishing 130th in last year's PGA Tour FedExCup ranking, he is competing on the Korn Ferry Tour again this year. With one win this season and four top-10 finishes, he is now ranked No. 1 in points, making his return to the regular tour next year almost certain. Kim first drew attention in 2020 by winning the KPGA Championship on the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Tour as an alternate, then won the Japan PGA Championship, a major on the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), the following year, before advancing to the United States.
Blaine Hale Jr. (USA) finished as runner-up with 17-under-par 271, while Ben Taylor (England) and others tied for third with 16-under-par 272. Among Korean players, Seung Yul Noh shot 2-under to tie for 10th at 11-under-par 277. Lee Seungtaek, nicknamed "Bulgeom," tied for 16th at 9-under-par 279.
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