First time was the charm for Tom Kim.
In his first chance to defend on the PGA Tour, Kim fired rounds of 62-66 on the weekend at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas to repeat as the winner of the Shriners Children’s Open.
In doing so, the 21-year-old South Korean native becomes the youngest three-time winner on Tour since Tiger Woods, and the second-youngest to successfully defend a Tour title since 1900, shooting 20-under 264, one stroke better than Canadian Adam Hadwin.
“No. 3 sounds a lot better than No. 2,” Kim said. “It’s been a grind and it’s been my first full season and try to live up to the expectations of a great year last year and trying to get better and it’s been tough sometimes.”
Kim was supposed to defend his first title in August at the Wyndham Championship but withdrew with an ankle injury he suffered at the British Open.
“It was so hard for me to just sit on my couch and not really be able to do anything,” Kim explained. “It was very frustrating personally as a player because it was my first win, and I was so determined to come back to Shriners at least being healthy and at least have a chance to win as a defending champion.”
Kim started slowly in his title defense with a pair of 68s as LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson, who shot 69 on Friday and threatened to make the cut, stole the spotlight. For the second straight year, Kim made a big move on Saturday, shooting 62 again to enter the final round as one of three co-leaders. Last year, he played bogey-free for 72 holes en route to victory but this time he had a few hiccups along the way, making seven bogeys and a double, but he offset those blunders with 27 birdies and an eagle.
He raced to three birdies in his first four holes on Sunday before making a pair of bogeys at Nos. 5 and 6. That would be his final dropped shot and after a birdie at nine he was one of 16 players separated by three strokes as he made the turn. Kim broke out of a six-way tie at 18 under with a birdie at 12.
“Now it’s just if I’m good enough, I can take it,” said Kim, who would tack on birdies at 13 and 15 to improve to 20 under.
Hadwin was a stroke back and had 206 yards to the par-5 16th, which set up as a perfect cut 6-iron, but he dunked it in the water fronting the green and made bogey to give Kim a two-stroke cushion.
“I completely whiffed it, up and out of it, and unfortunately one of my worst swings of the day at the least opportune time,” said Hadwin, who sank a birdie putt on the closing hole to finish solo second.
There was a logjam tied for third at 18 under, including Rookie of the Year candidate Eric Cole, who closed in 9-under 62 after switching back to an old putter. Alex Noren, J.T. Poston and Taylor Pendrith also finished two behind Kim.
“He’s just so steady. Fairways and greens, he never gets out of rhythm, out of pace,” Hadwin said of Kim. “Five-under was seemingly the absolute worst he would have shot today. I knew it was going to take a good round to compete and to win.”
In retrospect, Kim, who improved to a career-best No. 11 in the Official World Golf Ranking, had enjoyed a solid year, recording his best finishes in majors, including second at the British Open and eighth at the U.S. Open, and qualified for the Tour Championship, but he also endured a stiff learning curve as the burden of expectations began to weigh on him.
“Suddenly you feel like you’re right there and you need to do something extra or something,” he said. “I felt like I almost added a lot of pressure towards myself to perform really well this year. But really it’s been a very big learning curve for me, and it’s very humbling to be able to experience what I’ve experienced this year. That’s why I feel like this third one is even sweeter.”
And the celebration will include a sweet. Asked how he would celebrate in Las Vegas now that he’s 21 this time, Kim already had a plan. He was going to enjoy a piece of Ferrero Rocher white chocolate that he had bought during a trip to Europe.
“I can’t wait to finish that chocolate. I’ve wanted to finish it so bad,” he said. “It’s going to taste so good tonight.”