Si Woo Kim earns fourth PGA Tour victory, and first since January 2021, with birdies on his final two holes seeing South Korean pip America’s Hayden Buckley by one stroke at Sony Open in Hawaii; England’s Ben Taylor finishes four shots back in share of fourth
Last Updated: 16/01/23 6:44am
South Korea’s Si Woo Kim has now won four times on the PGA Tour, including at The Players Championship in 2017
Si Woo Kim birdied his final two holes en route to a one-shot win over Hayden Buckley at the Sony Open in Hawaii as England’s Ben Taylor finished in a share of fourth.
Kim fired eight birdies in total across his final round – including five on the front nine – plus two bogeys as he concluded his tournament with a six-under 64 and finished on 18 under par.
The South Korean missed the green with his tee shot at the par-three 17th but then managed to chip in from 28 feet for what proved a crucial birdie.
That shot moved Kim level on 17 under with Buckley and he proceeded to birdie the par-five 18th to win by one with Buckley unable to pick up a shot and force a play-off.
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The victory was Kim’s fourth on the PGA Tour and his first since January 2021 when he beat Patrick Cantlay by one stroke to win The American Express.
Buckley was the man to end one shot behind Kim on this occasion with the American – who began his round three strokes clear of the Korean – shooting a two-under 68 with four birdies mixed in with two bogeys.
Englishman Taylor finished four shots behind Kim with the Epsom-born player carding a final-round 69 which featured birdies at nine and 18 and a dropped shot at the 14th.
England’s Ben Taylor finished in a share of fourth place at the Sony Open in Hawaii
Chris Kirk ended third on 15 under par, while Andrew Putnam and David Lipsky joined Taylor in a share of fourth spot on 14 under.
Kim: It can’t get better than this – What they said
Si Woo Kim: “It’s like the first time, winning my first event… it can’t be better than this. It is really exciting and a lot of the season is left. I’m trying to get more confidence and then hopefully more wins.”
Hayden Buckley, the 54-hold leader: “I feel like I had control of the tournament pretty much the whole way, but just a late miss on 15 from three or four feet really hurt.
“I bounced back with a birdie [at 16] and gave myself a chance. Overall I was impressed by what I did, and I think I’ll remember this day and it’ll just make me better.”
Watch more PGA Tour action with The American Express, live on Sky Sports Golf from 4.30pm on Thursday.
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