All four South Korean players in the U.S. Professional Golf (PGA) Tour playoffs, including Lim Sung-jae and Kim Joo-hyung, have advanced to the second round. Their next goal is to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship.
Lim Sung-jae (KOR) shot a 2-under 68 with two birdies in the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship ($20 million) at TPC Southwind (Par 70) in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, on Thursday and is tied for sixth place (11-under 269). Four strokes behind Patrick Cantlay (USA) and Lucas Glover (15-under 265-USA), who won for the second straight week in a playoff.
Lim entered the first round of the Playoffs (PO) ranking at No. 32 in the regular season FedExCup standings, but a strong first round moved him up to No. 28 and earned him a spot in the second round of the BMW Championship, which features only the top 50 players. The top 70 players were eliminated in the first round of the PO, with 20 more eliminated in the second round before 30 players compete in the season finale, the Tour Championship.
Lim advanced to the Tour Championship for the fourth consecutive year beginning in 2019, finishing second in last year’s final round, one stroke behind Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), and earning $5.75 million in bonus money. To qualify for the final for the fifth consecutive year, he must finish in the top 30 on the FedExCup standings at the BMW Championship.
Siu Kim dropped two strokes to finish in a tie for 16th (9-under 271) and moved up one spot to 17th in the FedExCup standings, while Joo Hyung Kim dropped two strokes to finish in a tie for 24th (7-under 273) and dropped four spots to 18th in the FedExCup standings. Ahn Byung-hoon also dropped two strokes to finish tied for 37th (5-under par 275), dropping one spot to 38th in the FedExCup standings.
Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung are now within striking distance of qualifying for the Tour Championship. However, Lim and Ahn will need to stay on their toes and post top-10 finishes at the BMW Championship.
Glover, a 43-year-old veteran, made a dramatic playoff run to win the Wyndham Championship in the final event of the regular season and then 토토 sank a mid- to long-range putt in the first round of the POs to win for the second straight week. He jumped from No. 49 to No. 4 in the FedExCup standings and secured a spot in the Tour Championship.
McIlroy shaved five strokes off his total to finish at 14-under-par 266, missing the cut by one stroke and tied for third with Tommy Fleetwood (England). McIlroy remained third in the FedExCup standings, while Fleetwood jumped 16 spots to 10th. Jon Rahm fell short of expectations with a tie for 37th (5-under-par 275), but retained the top spot in the FedExCup standings.