Kim Joo-hyung (21, Nike Golf) broke out of his slump with a top-10 finish at a major for the first time in his career. With his rebound, Kim will look to win his second title of the season on the PGA Tour. 메이저놀이터

Kim will compete in the Travelers Championship ($20 million purse) at TPC River Highlands (par 70, 6852 yards) in Cromwell, Connecticut, USA, starting on Sept. 22 (local time).

After a slump, Kim turned things around with an eighth-place finish at the U.S. Open, his third major of the season.

Kim made his PGA Tour debut in the 2022-23 season and raised expectations with a win at the Shriners Hospitals Open last October. He followed that up with three top-10 finishes in his next six events, showing off his potential.

However, Kim has struggled since a tie for sixth at the American Express in January. He tied for seventh at the Zurich Classic in April with Kim Siu (28, CJ Logistics), but in 11 individual events in six months, he hasn’t finished in the top 10 and has missed the cut three times. His best finish was a tie for 16th at the Masters.

His breakthrough came at the U.S. Open, a major championship.

After missing the cut in two consecutive tournaments prior to the US Open, Kim was desperate to make the cut in his third major. However, she got off to a bad start again. Kim shot 3-over-par in the first round and was worried about missing the cut again.

However, in the second round, he improved his focus and reduced his strokes. Eventually, he shot under par for three consecutive days, starting in the second round, and finished in the top 10 of a major for the first time in his career.

After the U.S. Open, Kim said, “Three consecutive days of under-par gave me a lot of confidence.” It was a satisfying three days. 토토사이트추천

Now that the atmosphere has changed, the expectations for the new tournament are high. The shorter length of the course compared to other tournaments is also an encouragement for Kim, who is more comfortable with his irons than his long game.

His average drive distance is 298.2 yards, which ranks 106th on the PGA Tour. However, his drive accuracy rate of 68.54% is good enough to rank fourth.

The PGA Tour is also positive, ranking him eighth in the tournament’s Power Rankings, saying, “As he approaches his one-year anniversary on the PGA Tour, he is beginning to apply his experience to each course.”

Of course, Kim will have to overcome some stiff competition to make it two wins in a row. The tournament is one of the PGA Tour’s most prestigious events, with the top-ranked players in the world, including No. 1 Scottie Shaffler (USA), No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Spain) and No. 3 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), all in attendance.

Along with Kim Joo-hyung, the Korean field includes Lim Seong-jae (25), Ahn Byung-hoon (32), Lee Kyung-hoon (32, CJ Logistics), Kim Si-woo and Kim Sung-hyun (25, Shinhan Financial Group).