Dominant weekend sees Kim close to locking in PGA Tour card

Kim Joo-hyung plays his shot from the ninth tee during the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday in Detroit, Michigan. [AFP/YONHAP]

Kim Joo-hyung essentially secured his PGA Tour card on Sunday, finishing in seventh place at the Rocket Mortgage Classic held at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan.

On Sunday, Kim fired a 9-under, 63, to tie the 18-hole tournament record, highlighted by seven birdies and an eagle at the par-4 10th hole where he holed out from 127 yards with his iron.

Kim carded a total score of 18-under-par, 270, eight strokes behind winner Tony Finau.

This is Kim’s second career top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, following a third-place finish at the Genesis Scottish Open last month.

"I played great,” said Kim after the match. “From tee to green, I felt really solid. I was hitting the shots that I needed to and made a lot of putts. Definitely happy. No bogeys on the scorecard, just birdies and an eagle."

Just two events after being invited as a non-member to compete on the PGA Tour for the remainder of the 2021-22 season in the second week of July, the 20-year-old has proven that he is good enough to be on the PGA Tour. Up until now, Kim predominantly played on the Asian Tour.

To earn a PGA Tour card for next season, a golfer needs to earn as many FedEx Cup points as the 125th-ranked golfer on the Fedex Cup standings and qualify for this year’s FedEx Cup Playoff.

The solo seventh-place finish earns Kim 90 non-member FedExCup points, giving him 417 for the season, almost certainly enough to earn full PGA Tour status for the 2022-23 season.

"It means everything. Every day I've played golf, I’ve thought about playing on the PGA Tour. It was nothing else," said Kim. "It could get a little emotional tonight, but it's definitely been a dream, it's been a road and hopefully next season I'll be out here full time.”

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