Tom Kim retained his Shriners Children’s Open title with a one-shot win over Adam Hadwin in Las Vegas, a triumph that saw him become the youngest player since Tiger Woods to earn three PGA Tour victories.
The South Korean posted a five-under 66 in the final round to get to -20, four shots more than he had taken at TPC Summerlin last year but still good enough for a narrow win.
The 21-year-old is the first player since Jim Furyk in 1998 and 1999 to go back-to-back at the Shriners Children's Open, and it's an impressive double to go with his maiden victory at the 2022 Wyndham Championship.
Woods won two titles in 1996 – the Las Vegas Invitational and Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic – before registering number three on the PGA Tour at the Mercedes Championship in January 1997.
Number four for Woods came at the Masters just a few months later, but Kim will be keen to avoid any comparisons with the great man.
“I'm 21, I'm not the oldest guy out here, and the kids here are even younger than me,” the man from Seoul said after his victory.
“I feel like I'm kind of close in age with them, and if there's anything I can do just to inspire one kid out there, it would mean the world.”
Kim has already shown an impressive ability to produce the goods when it really matters, and he displayed it again with three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine.
Hadwin did his best to stay in touch, but he made a costly error on 16, pulling his ball into the water, which resulted in a bogey.
“I completely whiffed it [at 16], up and out of it, and unfortunately one of my worst swings of the day at the least opportune time,” reflected Hadwin.
Elsewhere, Ludvig Aberg continued his fine run of form, finishing off another impressive week with a final-round 62 to finish tied 13th on 16 under.
The Swede, who lost out in a five-man playoff last week, has shown no signs of fatigue since making his Ryder Cup debut, and looks to be very close to earning his first PGA Tour title.
However, the week belonged to Kim, who added: “I really felt confident in myself. I knew that if I did me I was going to be able to do it. I'm stoked to get this one.”
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