CNN
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Information tumbled in Tiger Woods’ wake when the prodigious newbie turned skilled in 1996 in some of the breakneck accelerations to the summit that golf has ever seen.
So when, 26 years on, a 20-year-old is matching the early feats of the 15-time main winner, it’s most likely value taking discover.
Kim “Tom” Joo-hyung accelerated his meteoric rise with victory on the Shriners Kids’s Open on Sunday, changing into the primary golfer since Woods to win twice on the PGA Tour earlier than turning 21. The duo are the one gamers to realize the feat for the reason that Second World Struggle, in line with ESPN Stats and Information.
The South Korean carded an unblemished 24-under 260 to safe a three-shot overcome Patrick Cantlay in Las Vegas, making him simply the third participant since 1974 to win a stroke play occasion with out making a single bogey.
After his maiden triumph on the Wyndham Championship in August, it marks Kim’s second Tour win in his final 4 outings – and sandwiched between the 2 titles was a massively spectacular efficiency on the Presidents Cup in September.
He’s performed 9 Tour occasions since July, however Kim has shrugged off any suggestion of burnout.
“I’m a five-year-old at Disneyland,” he informed reporters, “It’s onerous to get drained from this.”
“A couple of months in the past, I didn’t have any standing within the US, and now being a two-time winner on Tour, having that place with Tiger, it’s an unbelievable feeling for me.
“It’s an honor for me, and it’s positively a dream come true.”
At 20 years, three months and 18 days outdated, Kim clocked his second triumph six months sooner than Woods, who was below three months shy of his twenty first birthday when he clinched the Walt Disney World Golf Basic in October 1996, two weeks after his first Tour win on the Las Vegas Invitational – now the Shriners Kids’s Open.
In April the next 12 months, Woods took his ascent to new heights by changing into the youngest ever Masters winner at Augusta. Whereas a twenty third place end on the US Open in June marked a powerful exhibiting in Kim’s fourth ever main outing, the South Korean is conserving his toes planted firmly on the bottom.
“Hopefully, I can have a protracted profession, and I’ve started working actually onerous – I can’t get glad in any respect,” he stated.
“I’ve simply received to maintain taking part in higher as a result of there’s plenty of guys who work actually onerous and who’ve achieved much more than me.
“I’m not even near Tiger. Whether or not it’s Tiger, Rory [McIlroy], Justin [Thomas], Jordan [Spieth], these guys, I’ve nonetheless received a protracted method to go, so I simply must maintain working onerous.”
Kim’s profitable card matched the report for the bottom profitable rating on the occasion since TPC Summerlin modified to a par-71 course in 2009, in line with the PGA Tour, but the 20-year-old had been locked stage with Cantlay heading to the ultimate gap.
Having shot a match finest 11-under 60 on Saturday, Cantlay noticed his hopes of a ninth Tour victory crushed by a disastrous triple bogey on the 18th. After discovering the bushes from the tee, the American determined towards a drop to try to play out, just for his escape shot to journey only one yard.
The American’s woes had been compounded when his subsequent shot dropped into the water, as Kim parred to place the gloss on what had been a intently fought closing day.
“When you will have a two-shot lead and you’ve got a man like Patrick coming at you, no lead is protected,” Kim stated.
“I simply stayed actually affected person. I performed my recreation plan, and I simply received actually fortunate on the ultimate gap. Patrick has performed so good this week, and I received actually lucky.”
It marks Cantlay’s third runner-up end in 5 begins on the occasion.
“After it was type of within the bush there, I figured the one probability I needed to keep within the match was to attempt to get it again within the fairway,” he informed reporters.
“I performed properly all week for probably the most half, one dangerous swing on the finish. Clearly would have preferred to have closed the deal out in the present day, however generally, that’s golf … the final gap makes the entire week type of bitter.”