Tom Kim had a brutal end to his season.
Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire through Getty Photos
Tom Kim stood on the sixteenth tee six underneath for the week on the FedEx St. Jude Championship, however extra importantly, forty sixth within the FedEx Cup standings.
Kim was far off profitable this week’s occasion — that ultimately went to Hideki Matsuyama — however with a reachable par-5 forward of him, an opportunity to make up only a bit extra floor, it was doubtless he’d be round subsequent week on the BMW Championship in Colorado for the second 12 months in a row.
Maybe extra importantly, he’d even be exempt into all eight of the PGA Tour’s Signature Occasions, ever essential today, if he might maintain it collectively to stay within the prime 50 over the past three holes.
However that’s not the way it went.
As an alternative, Kim drove it within the fairway and had simply an iron left into the par-5 when he blocked it right into a greenside bunker.
“Actually poor missed shot, simply anyplace left is ok and missed it proper,” he mentioned of the method.
From there he took two photographs to get out of the sand and missed the par putt for deflating six.
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Nevertheless, Kim was nonetheless within the inexperienced. In reality, he could be high-quality so long as he didn’t play the final two holes in three over par or worse. Certainly a Tour professional, one with three PGA Tour wins in an already promising younger profession would discover a method to get dwelling in 10 photographs or much less over two par-4s. Even two as exhausting because the seventeenth and 18th at TPC Southwind.
Once more, he hit an ideal drive at 17. Once more, he blocked an iron proper. Once more, he left his chip shot quick. Once more he hit on to the inexperienced and missed the putt for an additional six, this time a double bogey.
On 18, he was out of photographs to play with. He wanted par to remain inside the prime 50, though he wasn’t completely certain on the tee.
“I did assume I used to be going to wish [birdie to have] a shot, however on the identical time, it’s not like I performed overly aggressive,” Kim mentioned. “I picked goal, and it was into the wind so I couldn’t hit 3-wood so I needed to hit driver.”
On the 18th, a 450-yard sharp dogleg left par-4 that performs round an extended lake for its total size, Kim’s tee ball by no means crossed over dry land.
“It stayed useless straight, and the wind received it, and it didn’t cowl,” he mentioned. “Hit drive, and the wind switched and the wind began to select up, and didn’t cowl.”
He needed to drop greater than 250 yards from the outlet and made one other six, his third in a row, that left him projected 51st within the standings. When Nick Dunlap completed off his match in a tie for fifth, that was sufficient factors to maneuver Dunlap into the highest 50 and push Kim out.
Kim, Mackenzie Hughes and Jake Knapp have been the one three gamers to fall out of the highest 50 this week. Dunlap, Viktor Hovland and Eric Cole all moved in.
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“I advised myself earlier than the day that if I didn’t play properly, I actually felt like I used to be going to complete 51,” Kim mentioned. “I sort of advised myself, if that occurs, I’ve completed every thing I might to be inside that prime 50 and hopefully give myself an opportunity at Tour Championship. However I couldn’t, and I’m going to sit up for a extremely good low season as a result of I’m fairly drained.”
After he completed on 18, he starred into the lake. He mentioned he was wanting again on the total season.
“This 12 months has been actually robust for me personally,” Kim mentioned. “I went by way of plenty of modifications. I performed some good golf and had in all probability 5 dangerous rounds that value me probably one prime 5, one prime 10, and one thing like this. First spherical, second spherical I feel I completed 5-over my previous couple of holes. When issues aren’t going your method, issues aren’t going your method. It reveals you in a good 12 months, this might have been like a thirtieth as a substitute of a 51st.”
It’s the second straight emotional finish to an occasion for Kim. He completed eighth on the Olympics the place a medal place might have exempted him from necessary navy service again in his dwelling nation of South Korea.
He was seen wiping tears from his face within the scoring trailer after the ultimate spherical in Paris.
