Tag: Rob Oppenheim

Si Woo Kim grabs pole position with ace in what looks to be sprint to the finish at Wyndham

Kim made a hole-in-one and nearly another to take the lead heading into the final round of the Wyndham Championship.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Si Woo Kim was dialed in with his irons at Sedgefield Country Club on Saturday. He made an ace at the par-3 third hole to assume the lead and nearly made a second hole-in-one at the 12th, settling for a tap-in birdie to regain the lead en route to a two-stroke advantage heading into the final round of the Wyndham Championship.

Kim, 25, signed for an 8-under 62 and is in the pole position at a course where he has fond memories of winning his first PGA Tour title in 2016.

“I feel like pretty similar this year,” he said. “Driving, every shot fairway, and then every shot close to pin, every putt, make the putt.”

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Kim jumped in front at the third hole when his 8-iron from 161 yards took one hop and disappeared in the hole for an ace. From the tee, Kim could only tell that it was close and his reaction was noticeably subdued.

“If number’s good, that would be good. I (did) not expect that ace, but some guys yelling (at) me and I feel like just tap-in, really close, and some TV guys told me that’s ace and I was so excited,” said Kim, who is making his 10th straight start since the resumption of the Tour season in June.

At the 196-yard 12th hole, Kim’s 5-iron pitched a foot in front of the hole and lipped out, stopping 14 inches away. This time, he reacted, throwing up his arms as if to say, “C’mon, man.”

“Just little missed right, but that was a really tough hole and really thankful made that birdie,” he said.

Kim, whose other victory was at the 2017 Players Championship, had 11 birdie putts inside 10 feet on the day and tacked on three birdies in a row beginning at 15 to improve to 18-under 192 and move two clear of Rob Oppenheim and Doc Redman.

But playing in this Nascar-crazed state, the South Korean is going to have to keep his foot on the pedal in what is setting up to be a sprint to the finish at the regular season finale of the 2019-20 season. For the third straight day, preferred lies were utilized due to wet conditions. Ball-in hand combined with receptive greens, accessible hole locations and slower green speeds left Sedgefield CC vulnerable and the pros took advantage. Zach Johnson and Jim Herman shot 61s, Kim and Oppenheim had 62 and Redman had a 63.

Oppenheim and Redman, who practiced together earlier this week at Old Chatham in nearby Raleigh, are both bidding for their first wins. Oppenheim, 40, turned professional 18 years ago, didn’t earn his PGA Tour card until five years ago, and has played in every Tour event that he’s been eligible for.

“You can’t do this as long as I have without loving it,” he said after bettering his career low by two strokes despite a bogey at 18.

He entered the week No. 145 in the FedEx Cup standings, but is now one of three players projected to leap into the top 125 (along with Johnson and Peter Malnati; Russell Knox, Charl Schwartzel and Fabian Gomez would drop out). He’s never qualified for the Playoffs, which begin next week at TPC Boston, not far from where he grew in Andover, Massachusetts, and where he made his Tour debut in 2006. He called earning a spot in the Northern Trust field, which is limited to the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings after this week, his main goal at the beginning of the season. This is old hat for Oppenheim – Bubble Boy has got to be his nickname,” declared PGA Tour XM Radio’s John Rollins.

“It’s what we play for, to kind of put ourselves in these situations and see how you handle it. I haven’t been in this situation, I’ve never been in one of the last two or three groups on Sunday, but I’ve been in plenty of situations where I’ve been fighting to keep my job or trying to get out here,” said Oppenheim, whose best career finish in 76 Tour starts is T-8 at the 2017 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Redman, 22, won the 2017 U.S. Amateur and is a native Tarheel, who was state 4A champion as a high school senior, and is looking to become the third North Carolinian to win the Wyndham Championship in the last six years. He made his only bogey of the tournament at the first hole of the third round before carding four birdies on each side and equaling his career low on Tour.

With so many young, talented players on Tour, including last week’s major champion Collin Morikawa, Redman’s name can get lost in the shuffle in the discussion of young guns. He offered a simple game plan to follow Sunday in order to hoist his first Tour trophy.

“I think just allowing myself to play great, not letting myself get ahead of myself,” he said. “Just kind of trust myself and see what happens.”

Kim also has a couple of savvy veterans who know a thing or two about swooping in from behind to steal a title on payday. Five-time Tour winner Billy Horschel posted a 65, his 22nd consecutive round of par or better here, and trails by three. Seeking his third win of the season, Webb Simpson, the 2011 Wyndham champion and runner-up a year ago, matched Horschel’s 65, but they lost ground as five of the top eight players on the leaderboard either set or tied their career low rounds on the Tour.

“It’s probably the best I’ve played in a long time,” said Simpson, who enters the final round five back in a tie for seventh. “I just didn’t capitalize when I needed to.”

With overnight showers expected, Sedgefield Country Club should be there for taking again during the final round. When asked how low he would need to go on Sunday, Kim said, “Maybe a lot, but I don’t want to think about the score because if I think (that) I have to shoot 6 under, 7 under, that’s too much pressure. Just keep my playing and then hopefully, yeah, go low.”

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It’s Groundhog Day for perennial ‘bubble boy’ Rob Oppenheim at the Wyndham Championship

Oppenheim is golf’s perennial bubble boy, always scratching and clawing for playing privileges.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Rob Oppenheim is golf’s perennial bubble boy.

“I don’t think you ever get used to it. But I embrace it; it’s why we play,” he said.

Ah, but just imagine the rollercoaster ride the 40-year-old journeyman pro has endured over the years. In 2014, Oppenheim had a hole-in-one in the final round of Q-School to earn full status on the Korn Ferry Tour by a shot. A year later, he grabbed hold of the last PGA Tour card by $101. He’s also seen his bubble burst: In 2016, he finished 26th on the Korn Ferry Tour money list by $392 after Hurricane Matthew canceled the final event. Last year, he was on the right side of the line, playing well enough on the final day of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship to finish 20th overall in the three-tournament qualifying and secure his PGA Tour privileges for the 2019-20 season.

At this week’s Wyndham Championship, it’s Groundhog Day for Oppenheim, who entered the week at No. 145 in the FedEx Cup standings. Only the top 125 qualify for the Playoffs, which begin next week at the Northern Trust at TPC Boston.

Oppenheim, who grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, played his first Tour event at TPC Boston in 2006 when the Tour stop there was known as the Deutsche Bank Championship, and would desperately like to get in next week’s field. He’s never qualified for the FedEx Cup, finishing the regular season at No. 158 in 2016 and No. 180 in 2018.

Oppenheim, 40, took care of the first task at hand: He shot a pair 66s to make the weekend at 8-under 132 and is tied for 10th place, just two strokes behind the lead. And yet that still has Oppenheim, who is projected to finish No. 133, on the outside looking in.

“I guess I still have more work to do,” he said.

But there is significantly less pressure this week at the Wyndham Championship, where those who don’t qualify for the FedEx Cup typically are relegated to the three-event Korn Ferry Tour playoff.

This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic that canceled 13 events in the regular season, the Tour announced on April 30 that it is extending its exempt player membership into next season. Oppenheim still has incentive to finish in the top 125 besides the Boston tee time. Those who qualify for the FedEx Cup receive higher status and have more flexibility in making their schedule.

“Every year on Tour, I’ve always been to the point where any event I get in, I’m playing,” Oppenheim said.

Among those players still fighting to keep their season alive are Shane Lowry, Sergio Garcia and Russell Knox, who rallied to shoot 6-under 64 to make the 36-hole cut on the number. He’s currently projected at No. 125.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello (No. 126) and Chesson Hadley (No. 128) also survived the cut, while Wyndham Clark (123), Fabian Gomez (124), and Bronson Burgoon (129) weren’t so lucky. Heading into the week, South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel held that spot, but he missed the cut and is projected to finish No. 127, and will have to sweat out whether his bubble will burst from the sidelines over the weekend.

“Irrelevant of what happens this week for me, I’ve got a full schedule next year,” he said Thursday. “Saying that, I really want to get through and keep playing. I think that eases the pressure, but maybe that’s why I haven’t thought about it too much.”

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