Korean trio tees off in first leg of PGA Tour playoffs
Kim Si-woo, Tom Kim and Im Sung-jae have all qualified for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first of three FedEx Cup playoff tournaments.
Published
Golfer Tom Kim hits from a sand trap on the 15th hole during the final round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 9.AP/YONHAP
Three Korean players will be in the field in the opening leg of the annual PGA Tour playoffs this week, with two of them in good position to advance to the next round and the one remaining player looking to join them.
Kim Si-woo, Tom Kim and Im Sung-jae have all qualified for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which starts at TPC Southwind in Memphis on Thursday.
This is the first of three FedEx Cup playoff tournaments, with the top 70 players from the FedEx Cup standings eligible.
The top 50 after this week’s event will qualify for the next playoff stop, the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. The top 30 after the second tournament will advance to the finale, the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Kim Si-woo, at No. 7, and Tom Kim, at No. 26, are safely inside the top 50 and should survive the first cut. Im, ranked 53rd, will need a strong week to crack the top 50 and keep alive his streak of playing in seven consecutive Tour Championships.
Kim Si-woo has been one of the tour’s most consistent players this season. He is the highest-ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings without a win. In 21 starts, he has made 20 cuts and recorded 10 top-10 finishes, second most on the tour behind only world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
He tied for 14th at last year’s FedEx St. Jude Championship on the same course and advanced to the next playoff event. He drew American veteran Justin Thomas for the first two rounds.
Golfer Kim Si-woo hits from the fifth tee during the final round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament in Detroit on Aug. 2.AP/YONHAP
Tom Kim has also come on strong of late. He ended a three-year title drought by winning the Genesis Scottish Open in July, then tied for fifth at last week’s Wyndham Championship to crack the top 30 in the FedEx Cup rankings. In the world rankings, he once dropped to as low as 150th this year but now finds himself at No. 30.
Tom Kim will play with Ludvig Aberg of Sweden over the first two days.
Im has had three top-10s in 20 tournaments this year, but none since late May. He has been up and down over the past two months, mixing in three missed cuts with three top-15 showings over his 10 most recent tournaments.
He has been paired with Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Canada for the first two rounds.
There will be no cut this week, with the players vying for the $3.6 million winner’s check.
