Kim Si-woo finishes tied for 15th at The Open Championship

Golf

Published: 18 Jul. 2022, 16:13

Kim Si-woo finishes tied for 15th at The Open Championship

Kim Si-woo, second from left, Sahith Theegala of the United States, far right, and their caddies walk over the Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole during the third round of The 150th British Open Golf Championship on The Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Kim Si-woo tees off on the third hole during the final round of The 150th Open Championship on The Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Kim Si-woo finished tied for 15th at The Open Championship at The Old Course at St. Andrews on Sunday, the best out of the six Korean golfers competing with Cameron Smith of Australia taking the trophy.

This year, The Open Championship returned to the home of golf, The Old Course at St. Andrews, for its 150th tournament and the last major of the PGA season.

Six Korean golfers — Kim Si-woo, Lee Kyoung-hoon, Im Sung-jae, Kim Min-kyu, Cho Min-gyu and Kim Joo-hyung — threw their hats into the ring at the sport's oldest tournament with only Kim Si-woo, Kim Joo-hyung and Im Sung-jae making the cut after the first two rounds.

Kim Si-woo entered the final round on Sunday tied for fifth, but carded four bogies and three birdies on the last day for a total score of 10-under-par, 10 strokes behind the winner to tie at 15th.

Kim Joo-hyung carded a total of five-under-par finishing tied for 47th, while Im carded a four-over-par to finish tied for 81st.

Lee failed to make the cut after carding a two-over-par after the first two rounds, Cho a four-over-par and Kim Min-kyu a six-over-par.

Tiger Woods waves from the Swilcan Bridge at the 18th hole during the second round at the 150th Open Golf Championships in St. Andrews, Scotland on Friday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Tiger Woods, a three-time The Open champion, five-time Masters champion, 82-time PGA champion and 15-time major winner, also had to bow out of the competition early, carding nine-over-par after the first two rounds and failing to make the cut.

The Open Championship was only Woods' third PGA event of the season. Woods had been focusing on rehabilitating after a leg injury to compete at The Open Championship, even missing out on the U.S. Open, the second-to-last major of the season, to give his leg more time to rest.

But Woods' game at the 2022 The Open Championship was nothing like how he played his previous Opens, his ball landing in bunkers three times on Friday alone.

In 2000, Woods famously played all four rounds, all 72 holes without landing in a bunker and won his first Open to become the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam.

Regardless of how he was playing, spectators on the course gave Woods a standing ovation at the last hole, especially as it was probably the last time that the 46-year-old was going to play at The Old Course.

"The people knew that I wasn't going to make the cut," Woods said after the match. "But the ovations got louder as I was coming home. And that to me was... just the respect. I've always respected this event. I've always respected the traditions of the game.

"I put my heart and soul into this event over the years and I think the people have appreciated my play."

The PGA Tour flies back to the United States and continues Thursday with the 3M Open held at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]