by Tom Kim can officially be him after defeating Patrick Cantlay in Sunday’s final round of the 2022 Shriners Children’s Open for his second PGA Tour victory. Triumphant for the second time in two months, the 20-year-old superstar who burst onto the scene at the 2022 Presidents Cup may be just getting started.
Starting the day at 19 under and a share of the lead, Kim quickly fell behind when Cantlay opened with a birdie of his own. Along with veteran soldier Joe Skovron, Kim was indifferent. The South Korean connected on his first birdie of the day on the par-4 fourth and added two more on Nos. 8-9 to turn in 3-under 32 and own a two-stroke lead.
That comfortable margin would be short-lived as Cantlay found his stroke early on the back nine. With back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12, the pair went into the final third of TPC Summerlin all square.
Kim and Cantlay continued to go back and forth before reaching a tie for 17th at 24 under. Negotiating pars on the tricky par 3, Cantlay’s tee shot on the 72nd hole finally sealed his fate. Finding his home range, the world No. 4 tried to play from the brush and dropped the golf ball at his feet before making a bogey and hitting his fourth shot into the water. Leading into a triple bogey, all Kim needed was a routine par for his second win in his last four starts.
Known to be automatic in clutch situations, it wasn’t Cantlay, but rather Kim who kept the steady hand. Going into the week bogey-free at TPC Summerlin, he became the first player on the PGA Tour to do so since Joaquin Niemann at the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic and the first since JT Poston at the 2019 Wyndham Championship.
Putting constant pressure on his rival, this victory shows the ways in which Kim can win in the future. Closing out the field on Sunday at the Wyndham Championship for his first PGA Tour victory, this trip to the winner’s circle was very different given not only the competition, but how it was achieved.
Kim never flinched when Cantlay responded, and if he did, his poker face was strong enough to warrant a seat at a big-money table on the strip. Leaning on his short game at opportune times, his combination of stability, touch and a dash of fire makes the 20-year-old not only fun to watch, but also fun to play against.
With the win, Kim became the first player since Tiger Woods in 1996 win twice on the PGA TOUR before turning 21;.
While comparisons to Tiger Woods it’s drawn out, it almost felt like a tiger. Slowly draining the life out of the rest of the field, Kim never blinks in the face of adversity. When he was punched, he pushed back. When faced with sticky situations, he played conservatively aggressively. And when he was given the chance to step on the neck, he took a huge step up in more ways than one. Grade: A+
Here are the rest of our scores for the 2022 Shriners Children’s Open.
T2. Patrick Candley (-21): We may never see a 72nd hole from Cantlay again, as the 2017 Shriners Children’s Open winner triple bogeyed the final hole to give Kim the trophy. While some will suggest it was another quality outing for Cantlay — his third runner-up finish at TPC Summerlin in addition to his win — he needs to start chipping away at these tournaments. Following a season where he missed two playoffs and was runner-up once again, the Californian admitted he was tired of falling short. Yes, he has eight career PGA Tour wins, but given his talent, consistency and mental fortitude, he certainly feels light. Grade A
7. Sungjae Im (-19): It was a nice defense for Im, who was near perfect except for a 70 in the 2nd round that basically put him out of the tournament. In the last two Shriners Children’s Opens, Im has lost to just six golfers overall. The question now is how close to No1 he can get. Over the past five years, Im’s Data Golf ranking is as follows: 230-80-30-25-15. It is currently No. 11. Can it make it all the way to the top five or even close to No. 1 in the next few years? Grade A-
T8. Jason Day (-18): The former major winner closed with a 63 to break into the top 10 and it made me wonder what the world day has been up to in recent years. So I went into his stats and finishes. Day hasn’t won since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship, but has finished in the top 20 in over 20 percent of his events in each of the last four years. Day’s biggest problems were with his iron game, where he went from a top-25 player to barely touring average. He has also gone from being the best player in the world to a mere player. Hopefully the Shriners, his only individual top 10 since January, will be a good start for him in 2023. Grade A
T12. Davis Thompson (-16): Remember the name. Or should I say, remember the name? Thompson led after the first round of the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot while still an amateur in Georgia. After a fine 2022 year on the Korn Ferry Tour — Thompson had four top 10s, including a win — he’s off to a good start on the PGA Tour this fall with three cuts, including a T9 at the Fortinet Championship and this week’s T12. The even better news? He outplayed it all week and was the worst player of anyone in the top 19 of this leaderboard. He’s someone to keep an eye on over the next month. Grade A-
T28. Patrick Wells (-13): You might be asking, “Wait, who in the world is Patrick Welch?” which is a perfectly reasonable question. The answer: He’s an amateur who plays collegiately for Oklahoma, is ranked No. 44 in the world, plays cross-handed and has beaten more than 100 pros this week. Here’s a look at his ferocious swing, which must be working considering he finished in the top 25 in the field in both approaches and tee-to-green strides. Grade: A+
