Korea’s man-of-the-moment, Si Woo Kim does not intend to wait for another 103 tournaments to land his next PGA TOUR victory after taking nearly four years to end a winless run last weekend.
The 25-year-old Asian star hopes to ride on his new found confidence following a stylish win at The American Express where he shot a closing 8-under 64, which included two birdies over the last three holes, to pip World No. 10 Patrick Cantlay for his third PGA TOUR title.
Kim is amongst a star-studded field gathered for this week’s stop at Torrey Pines in San Diego which includes title holder Marc Leishman, 2019 FedExCup winner Rory McIlroy, four-time PGA TOUR winner Xander Schauffele and World No. 2 Jon Rahm.
“I got back into the winner’s circle after three years and eight months. After my last win at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2017, I thought I could win more easily but I couldn’t do well and I had a difficult time and went through some disappointments. That was hard for me,” said Kim.
“With this latest win, I hope I can overcome whatever obstacles ahead of me, and now that I have some momentum, I will try and do well again soon.
”Kim has featured in the Farmers Insurance Open on four previous occasions, with a tie for 18th place in 2016 being his best result as the famous venue, which will also host the U.S. Open later in June. He feels comfortable in the San Diego area and hopes the good times will continue to roll this week following his long wait in between his second and third TOUR wins.
“I just want to keep going out and enjoying my game and playing golf. I think the next win will come naturally,” said Kim, who now ranks only behind K.J. Choi (eight wins) as the Korean with most titles on TOUR.
“It is always good when I win a tournament and it always makes me happy. This is my third one and I really enjoyed it. I hope I can keep this momentum going and will keep this happy memory and use it to motivate my game.
“I also have some good memories here at Torrey Pines. This could be a good course for me and we’re playing on two different courses again (like last week). I will keep to my game plan and do my best.”
Other Asian stars in this week’s field include Korea’s Sung Kang, Seung Yul Noh, Sungjae Im, K.H. Lee and Byeong Hun An, who finished top-10 in last week, Japanese duo Satoshi Kodaira of Japan and Hideki Matsuyama, China’s Xinjun Zhang and Anirban Lahiri of India.
