Kim Si-woo (28) stood at the top in front of his wife.
Kim Si-woo made 8 birdies and 2 bogeys in the final 4th round of the PGA Tour Sony Open (total prize money: $7.9 million) held at Waialei Country Club (par 70) in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA on the 16th (Korean time). He tied for a 6-under 64. He succeeded in a come-from-behind victory, beating Hayden Berkeley (USA) by one stroke with a final total of 18 under par 262 strokes. He won the championship prize of 1.422 million dollars (approximately 1.75 billion won).
◆Laughing in front of his new bride
In December of last year, he married Oh Ji-hyun, who is one year younger than him. Oh Ji-hyun is also a golfer who recorded 7 wins on the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) tour. On this day, Oh Ji-hyun visited the venue and gave Kim Si-woo enthusiastic support.
Kim Si-woo responded. He was tied for fifth, three strokes behind the lead by the third round. In the 4th round, holes 1-3 showed a good start with 3 consecutive birdies. He wrote down bogies on holes 6 and 8 (more than par 4), but made up for it with birdies on holes 7 (par 3) and 9 (par 5). Afterwards, while Berkeley slowed down to look at hole 11 (par 3), he jumped to a tie for first place. Kim Si-woo rose to first place alone with a birdie on hole 12 (par 4). He added a birdie on hole 17 (par 3). In the last 18th hole (par 5), joy and sorrow were mixed. Berkeley finished with a par, but Kim Si-woo caught a birdie. It was the moment that confirmed the victory.
Kim Si-woo said, “(Oh) Ji-hyun even prepared for the wedding during the season. At the time, I was playing the season in the United States, so I couldn’t go to Korea. I am sorry and thank you.” Kim Si-woo, who entered Hawaii as a honeymoon, gave the best gift to his new bride.
◆Kyongju Choi succeeds
It is the first time in 15 years that a Korean player has won the Sony Open since Kyungju Choi in 2008. In the 2021 competition, Kevin Na (USA) held the championship trophy. In addition, Kim Si-woo completed his 4th win in his career, keeping the 2nd place behind Choi Kyung-ju (8 wins) in the most wins category for a Korean player on the PGA Tour. 메이저놀이터
Kim Si-woo said, “I am happy to win 4 times. It took a while after winning 3,” he said. Good sign,” he smiled.
He hasn’t had a trophy match for about two years. Previously, he tasted victories at the Wyndham Championship in August 2016, the Players Championship in May 2017, and the American Express in January 2021. Taking a deep breath, Kim Si-woo took a break in Korea for about a month before this tournament and gnashed his teeth with the mindset of ‘starting again’. As a New Year’s wish, I wished for ‘2 wins on the PGA Tour’. 1 win already.
Among the Korean players who participated in this tournament along with Kim Si-woo, Kim Seong-hyeon and An Byeong-hun tied for 12th place with a final total of 12 under par 268 strokes. Lee Kyung-hoon was tied for 28th with a total of 10 under par and 270 strokes. Kim Joo-hyung, Lim Seong-jae, and Choi Kyung-joo were eliminated from the cut.