Kim captures #3

Tom Kim shot a 5-under 66 on Sunday to separate himself from a crowded leaderboard and defend his title at the Shriners Children’s Open.

The 21-year-old Kim now has three wins on Tour — the youngest player to reach that mark since Tiger Woods in 1997, according to the AP.

The repeat in Vegas also means that Kim technically won the same event twice in the same season. That’s because the PGA Tour is currently reworking its schedule so that its seasons fall within a calendar year.

• Byron Nelson is the only other person to have accomplished this quirky feat, winning the San Francisco Open at Harding Park in both January and December of 1944, the AP noted.

How it happened: As the betting favorite heading into the event, Kim was steady, but a bit slow out of the gates, shooting a pair of 68’s on Thursday and Friday.

• But a 9-under 62 on Saturday propelled him into a tie for the 54-hole lead alongside Canadian Adam Hadwin.

• On Sunday, Kim did what he needed to do to get the win — knocking it to 3 feet at the 1st, making a pair of 11-footers for birdie at 3 and 4, and matching birdies at 12, 13, and 15 with Hadwin, who had the best chance to steal his lead away.

• The tournament was all but over when Hadwin knocked it in the water at the Par 5 16th and made bogey.

“I think by the end of last year, two wins on the PGA Tour all of a sudden, ranked 13th in the world… I felt like I almost added a lot of pressure towards myself to perform really well this year,” said Kim, who’s had an up-and-down season. “But really it's been a very big learning curve for me, and it's very humbling to be able to experience what I've experienced this year. That's why I feel like this third one is even sweeter.”

A sweet win, indeed.

Here’s how Kim and the rest of the top ten fared in Vegas:

1. Tom Kim / -20 / $1,512,000

2. Adam Hadwin / -19 / $915,600

T3. Eric Cole / -18 / $410,025

T3. Alex Noren / -18 / $410,025

T3. J.T. Poston / -18 / $410,025

T3. Taylor Pendrith / -18 / $410,025

T7. Beau Hossler / -17 / $238,000

T7. Cam Davis / -17 / $238,000

T7. Chesson Hadley / -17 / $238,000

T7. Joel Dahmen / -17 / $238,000

T7. Isaiah Salinda / -17 / $238,000

T7. ​​K.H. Lee / -17 / $238,000

Nick’s picks (graded)

For a while on Sunday, I thought that I might go a perfect 4-0 in my first week of picking “best bets.” But, as they almost always do, the gambling gods worked things out.

• Still, I’ll take 2-2. Here’s how it went down…

❌ Harry Hall top Englishman (+350). It was an exciting week for Hall, who carded a back nine 29 on Friday and shot 6-under on Sunday. Still, his -13 (T26) finish wasn’t enough to beat out fellow Englishman Callum Tarren, who canned his bunker shot for eagle at the 15th and ended one shot better overall, -14 (T23).

✅ Justin Suh over Ben Griffin (+100). Griffin had a tough week missing the cut, while Suh wasn’t spectacular but finished -6 (T56).

✅ Adam Hadwin top 20 (+160). Hadwin continued his awesome play at TPC Summerlin this week and had a legitimate shot to win on Sunday if one or two more putts dropped. He now has three top-10 finishes in his last four starts at the Shriners.

• Hadwin’s birdie at the 18th (which moved him into solo-2nd) also helped him take home an extra $404,000.

❌ Eric Cole outright winner (35-1). Cole was the early leader in the clubhouse on Sunday after shooting a final round 62. It wasn’t quite enough, but an impressive week nonetheless for the 35-year-old rookie who continues to knock on victory’s door.

Anyways, this was fun! I’ll make some more picks ahead of this week’s Zozo Championship.

A special thanks to Holderness & Bourne for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

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More news

Australia’s Min Woo Lee won wire-to-wire at the Asian Tour’s SJM Macao Open. (Golf Digest)

Brooks Koepka won the LIV Jeddah event in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, while his brother Chase will be one of four players relegated from the league this year. (NBC)

Talor Gooch, meanwhile, topped LIV’s season-long points race — worth $18 million. (Golf)

And finally…

Recently, I moved away from San Francisco after 10+ years and besides the food and friends, I’ve found myself missing the golf a lot. I guess there’s just something to the constant fog and Monterey Cypresses that leave an impression.

Golden Gate Park Golf Course — or GGP, as we’d call it — is a nine hole par 3 that sits at the edge of the park near the Pacific Ocean.

The course itself wasn’t special, but its surroundings were. AND, as a friend would constantly remind our group, if you tee’d off by 7am, you could still make it to the office by 9am.

Now, photos of GGP’s new remodel are starting to emerge. It looks unrecognizable and… freaking awesome.

Here’s a cool little video showing the work that’s being done on-site.

I can’t wait to get back. 😭

Alright! Thanks so much for reading y’all and I’ll see you back here on Wednesday for a Zozo Championship preview. Until then! - Nick B.