Kim Joo-hyung takes second place in the Travelers Championship after a fierce battle with ‘World No. 1’ Schaeffler
Kim Joo-hyung (22, Nike Golf) took second place after a close battle in overtime at the Travelers Championship (total prize money of $20 million), a signature tournament on the PGA Tour.
Joo-hyung Kim recorded 4 under par 66 with 5 birdies and 1 bogey in the final 4th round of the tournament held at TPC River Highlands (par 70) in Cromwell, Connecticut, USA on the 24th (Korean time).
Kim Joo-hyung, who recorded a final total of 22 under par and 258 strokes, tied with world number one Scotty Scheffler (USA) and went on to extend the match, but was unfortunately satisfied with second place.
Kim Joo-hyung, who has a total of 3 wins on the PGA Tour, has suffered a slump this season, failing to enter the top 10 even once until May.
However, earlier this month, he showed signs of a rebound by tying for 4th place at the RBC Canadian Open, and in this tournament, he led until the third round, showing that he had fully recovered his condition with a performance that was close to winning.
He, who will represent Korea along with An Byeong-hun (33, CJ) at the Paris Olympics held next month, has also raised expectations for a medal.
Kim Joo-hyung started the fourth round as the sole leader, one stroke ahead of the second-place group. However, he was unable to reduce the number of strokes with one birdie and one bogey in the first half, and in the meantime, he suffered from pursuit by late runners, including Scheffler. Kim Joo-hyung, who was once pushed back to second place, continued the race for the lead by making birdies at the 10th hole (par 4), the first hole of the second half, followed by birdies at the 13th hole (par 5) and the 15th hole (par 4). Kim Joo-hyung entered the final 18th hole (par 4) one stroke behind Scheffler. He was in the same group as Scheffler for the last hole. Here, Kim Joo-hyung’s almost perfect second shot came out, and Scheffler hit the ball a little further away. Scheffler failed to make a birdie putt and finished the hole with a par. On the other hand, Kim Joo-hyung succeeded in a birdie putt from a distance of 3 meters, and the game was extended. Kim Joo-hyung clenched his fists and was happy after catching a birdie. Kim Joo-hyung and Scheffler have always been close friends, and their birthdays are also on June 21st. The two, who celebrated their birthdays during this tournament, congratulated each other, and coincidentally ended up in an overtime match. Overtime continued at the 18th hole. Kim Joo-hyung put his tee shot on the fairway, but his second shot fell into the bunker. On the other hand, Scheffler steadily placed the ball on the green. Kim Joo-hyung attempted an aggressive bunker shot, but missed the hole cup, and missed the par putt, effectively dividing the game. Scheffler confirmed the win by making par with two putts. With this win, Schaeffler won for the sixth time this season (12 wins overall). In particular, among the six wins, five were won in signature tournaments with a total prize money of over $20 million, and the remaining one was in the Masters Tournament, a major tournament. Schaeffler, who took home the winning prize of $3.6 million (about 5 billion won), once again confirmed that he had established himself as the ‘new emperor’ of men’s golf. Seongjae Lim (26, CJ) also improved his ranking on the last day and recorded his best personal score of the season. Seongjae Lim recorded 4 under par 66 strokes with 5 birdies and 1 bogey in the 4th round. Lim Seong-jae, who recorded a final total of 20 under par and 260 strokes, finished the tournament in a tie for third place with Tom Hogi (USA). Seongjae Lim surpassed the Wells Fargo Championship (tied for 4th place) and achieved his best performance of the season, recording his 5th top 10 finish this season. Kim Si-woo (29, CJ), who also participated, tied for 31st with a final total of 10 under par and 270 strokes. 토토사이트