Day: January 25, 2021

Si Woo Kim closes strong to win The American ExpressSi Woo Kim closes strong to win The American Express

January 25, 2021January 25, 2021| 2:18

LA QUINTA, Calif. - Every time Si Woo Kim looked up at the leaderboards on the back nine Sunday at The American Express, he seemed to see another Patrick Cantlay birdie being posted. But not even a career-best 11 birdies and 11-under 61 from Cantlay could keep Kim from his third career PGA TOUR victory and first since THE PLAYERS Championship in 2017. He closed with an 8-under 64 which tied for the second best round of the day and was his third bogey-free round of the week. "I had many chances since PLAYERS. I had many chances to win, but I couldn’t make it, but finally I made it," Kim said. "So I tried to keep composure and I made it. I’m so happy with that." Despite being just 25 years old, Kim, who earned his PGA TOUR card at the age of 17, felt the weight of that nearly four-year wait since his last victory. That pressure made sleeping on the 54-hole co-lead Saturday night a difficult proposition. "So every year I had a chance to win, but I couldn’t make it, so I had a lot of thoughts in my mind last night," Kim said. "I tried to sleep but I couldn’t sleep, so I even took melatonin last night, but still I didn’t sleep very well." Cantlay certainly didn't make it any more comfortable on him on the course either, posting arguably what might be the best final round of the 2021 season to date. After grabbing the lead with a front-nine 30, Cantlay poured in five more on the back nine including a 38-foot drifter at the last to post 22-under nearly an hour before Kim was set to finish. Trailing by one with three holes to play as Cantlay warmed up on the range for a potential playoff, Kim hit a 3-wood into the par-5 16th that defied all aspects of physics to kick straight on to the green for a two-putt birdie instead of towards whatever could await in the brutal 19-foot bunker protecting the left. Entering the island green of the par-3 17th, better known as Alcatraz, Kim hoped to escape with a par but instead escaped with a birdie and a lead he'd never relinquish, rolling in a 19-foot breaker that seemed to only have one roll left in before it dumped in the front and sent Kim into a fist-pumping frenzy. "I wanted, at least I want to go to make the playoff, so I tried to focus on speed and then actually Max Homa’s putt helped me a lot, so I knew how it goes," Kim said. "So I just focused on speed and I hit it very confidently." Ironically, Kim's latest victory once again comes on a Pete Dye-designed golf course, but that wasn't the only similarity between Sunday in La Quinta and his PLAYERS win almost four years ago. At TPC Sawgrass, Kim's signature moment came when he ripped driver-off-the-deck from the right rough on the par-4 14th on to the green en route to victory. He went back to the well on Sunday, pulling driver from the middle of the fairway on the par-5 11th with 290 to the hole and water staring at him just left of the green. "Yeah, I hit driver today on No. 11. There was water on left side, and I thought I had enough distance for my driver," Kim said. "So I tried to keep it safe, so that’s why I didn’t hit the 3-wood and then I tried to use the mound on the right side, so that’s why I hit the driver-off-the-deck there." His fearlessness worked once again as Kim got up-and-down for birdie, a hole that proved pivotal in separating him from 54-hole co-leader Tony Finau who made bogey and dropped out of contention. Finau, who entered the 11th just one back of Kim, will have to endure the sting of another victory escaping his grasps. After pouring in back-to-back birdies to start the final round and testy par putts at No. 3 and No. 6., this final round seemed like it may be different for Finau. But the putter that Finau said had to support him if he was going to win Sunday ultimately let him down with a missed 4-foot birdie at No. 7 and a missed 3-foot par at the 11th after hooking his approach into the par-5 into the water. Finau went on to finsh solo-fourth, his 19th top five since his last win at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. "Yeah, that’s probably where I’m looking back on the back nine where I had some momentum and hit a good tee shot on 11. I had a take a little bit off my 3-iron so I decided to just hit a really low draw and just barely pulled it, just enough for it to go in the water," Finau said. "All hope wasn’t lost, of course, I should have been able to get that up-and-down. I was almost too confident in that short putt, I hit it too hard. Still thought I made it and it just power lipped out. "So that was a tough pill to swallow at the time because I just never thought I was going to walk away with 6 there and there we were on the 12th tee, having bogeyed the hole before, so. But, you know, as I know in this game, golf goes on, life goes on, after that hole I got to keep playing and keep pushing, trying to make birdies coming in. Si Woo did a great job this week and he’s a well-deserved champion."

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Si Woo Kim wins The American Express for third TOUR titleSi Woo Kim wins The American Express for third TOUR title

January 25, 2021January 25, 2021| 1:30

LA QUINTA, Calif. — Si Woo Kim birdied two of the final three holes to finish a rock-solid, 8-under 64, coolly rallying past late-charging Patrick Cantlay by one shot to win The American Express on Sunday for his third PGA TOUR victory. RELATED: Leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Si Woo Kim, The American Express A year after Kim withdrew from the desert tournament because of a back injury following a tough first round, he began the final round with a share of the lead as he attempted to win for the first time since THE PLAYERS Championship in 2017. The 25-year-old South Korean didn’t flinch when Cantlay shot a 61 and surged out of 13th place to the front while breaking the Stadium Course record by two strokes. Playing six groups behind Cantlay, Kim comfortably birdied the par-5 16th to pull even. Kim then buried a 19-foot birdie putt on the island green on the 17th to take the lead, joyously pumping his fist when his perfectly paced putt dropped. Kim wrapped up his third bogey-free round of the tournament — all on the Pete Dye-designed Stadium Course — with a two-putt par on the 18th to finish at 23-under 265. Kim had a much better time than he did last year in his return to the Palm Springs-area tournament long hosted by Bob Hope. A year ago, Kim shot a 15-over 87 in the opening round on the easier neighboring Nicklaus Course before withdrawing. Australia’s Cameron Davis shot a 64 to finish in a career-best third at 20 under. Tony Finau had a 68 and finished fourth after starting the final round with a share of the lead in his quest to land his long-awaited second PGA TOUR win. Cantlay was in 56th place when the third round began, but the Southern California native’s 65-61 finish shot him out of the crowded field and nearly led to his second victory of the 2020-21 season. He also won the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Thousand Oaks last October when it was relocated from Japan. The 28-year-old Cantlay made 11 birdies in the final round, including six in eight holes on the front nine. Cantlay capped his spectacular round with a 37-foot birdie putt on the 18th, pumping his fist subtly for the few fans clapping from their houses near the green. Cantlay was born in Long Beach, went to high school in Anaheim and was the Division I player of the year at UCLA before his pro career. All told, Cantlay made 20 birdies in his final two rounds, offset by two bogeys Saturday. Third-round co-leaders Max Homa and Finau both faded, with Homa struggling to five bogeys in a 76, leaving him at 11 under. Finau posted his third top-10 finish of the season, but couldn’t keep up with Kim.

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