Rory McIlroy defends CJ Cup title as Lee Kyoung-hoon finishes third

Golf

Published: 24 Oct. 2022, 15:00

Rory McIlroy defends CJ Cup title as Lee Kyoung-hoon finishes third

Rory McIlroy holds the CJ Cup trophy after the final round of the CJ Cup at Congaree Golf Club on Sunday in Ridgeland, South Carolina. [GETTY IMAGES FOR THE CJ CUP]

From left to right, Rory McIlroy, Kurt Kitayama and Lee Kyoung-hoon shake hands on the18th hole during the final round of the CJ Cup at Congaree Golf Club on Sunday in Ridgeland, South Carolina. [GETTY IMAGES FOR THE CJ CUP]

Rory McIlroy of Ireland defended his title at the CJ Cup at Congaree Golf Club in South Carolina on Sunday while Lee Kyoung-hoon finished two strokes behind in third place to mark the best finish by a Korean golfer at the event.

McIlroy outplayed Kurt Kitayama of the United States by one stroke to win his 23rd PGA Tour title. With the win, he reclaims the No. 1 spot on the Official World Golf Ranking for the ninth time in his career. This is the first time that any golfer has defended their title at the CJ Cup and is only the second time McIlroy has ever defended a title.

McIlroy had a steady four rounds. Starting off with a bogeyless first round of 66, he carded 67s in the next three rounds to win with a total score of 17-under-par, 267. In the third round, McIlroy showed off some of his FedEx Cup Champion skills, bouncing back from a bogey on the par-4 third with an eagle on the next hole and another eagle on the par-five 12th.

On Sunday, McIlroy seemed undefeatable as he birdied the par-5 12th, par-3 14th, par-4 15th and the par-4 16th in a row to lead by three strokes. Though he closed off his title defense with two bogeys, Kitayama was unable to tie the Irishman, missing a 22-foot birdie putt on the last hole that would have forced McIlroy to a playoff.

Lee, who played alongside Kitayama and McIlroy in the leader group, finished two strokes short of the trophy to become the top-ranked Korean golfer ever at the CJ Cup.

“I couldn't make it to the trophy but I got to see Rory win his title again, which allowed me to see where I stand and what I need to improve," said Lee on Sunday. "It was a great week overall.”

After carding a 68 on Thursday, Lee smashed through the second round with seven birdies and one bogey until he slipped on the second-to-last hole, double bogeying the par-4 17th and carding a 67. Seemingly unshaken, Lee carded a stable 66 on moving day and started the final round one stroke behind the leader.

Despite missing out on some birdie opportunities on Sunday, Lee had a bogeyless final round and carded a total score of 15-under-par, 269.

He had missed out on shaving off strokes on the second and fourth holes where he missed his birdies putts from less than eight feet.

He found his first birdie on the third hole and found another on the ninth hole, slotting in a 29-footer to card his second birdie of the day.

“I had enough chances but my putting didn't show up as I wished. I need to work on that,” Lee said on Sunday. “My driver distance is short, like some 30 to 40 meters. Of course I can work out my driver. But I want to go step by step on the distance.”

This is Lee’s best result this season after tying for 37th at the Shriners Children’s Open in the first week of October and the finishing tied for 59th at the Zozo Championship in Japan last week.

“I really wanted to win during the fall season,” said Lee. “I'm happy to I was in contention this week. I still got a couple more events to go so I want to do this again. I wish to get into contention more and be able to aim for another win. I want to win and hopefully win a major as well. That's my big goal for now.”

Lee has two PGA titles, both coming from the AT&T Byron Nelson. Winning his first title at the event in 2021, he defended his title this year.

Countryman Kim Joo-hyung also continued on with a formidable performance at the CJ Cup, finishing tied for 11th, seven strokes behind the winner.

Kim went into the CJ Cup after winning his second-ever PGA title at the Shriners Children’s Open just weeks ago. He had beaten world No. 4 Patrick Cantlay, turning heads by powering through all four rounds without a single bogey. With the Shriners Children’s Open title, Kim became the youngest golfer ever to win two PGA titles, six months earlier than Tigers Woods, who won his second-ever trophy at 20 years and nine months old.

A total of 13 Korean golfers played at Congaree Golf Club this week.

“There are a lot of Korean players now,” said Lee. “We still feel lonely since we are far away from home. But we talk a lot in players’ dining, we cheer one another, share information and laugh all around as well. So this really helps.”

Im Sung-jae tied for 34th, KPGA golfer Kim Bio tied for 37th, KPGA golfer Park Sang-hyun finished tied for 49th, Kim Si-woo tied for 52nd, An Byeong-hun tied for 62nd, Kim Seong-hyeon finished 64th, KPGA golfer Jung Chan-min tied for 72nd, KPGA golfer Bae Yong-jun finished 75th, Shin Sang-hun finished 76th and Seo Yo-seop and Kim Yeong-su tied for 77th, finishing at the bottom of the leaderboard.

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