Sihwan Kim Explained

Sihwan Kim
Birth Date:4 December 1988
Birth Place:Seoul, South Korea
Weight:190lb
College:Stanford University
Yearpro:2011
Tour:Asian Tour
Extour:European Tour
LIV Golf
Challenge Tour
Prowins:2
Asiawins:2
Masters:DNP
Usopen:DNP
Open:CUT: 2022
Pga:T62: 2023
Award1:Pac-10 Freshman of the Year
Year1:2008
Award2:Asian Tour
Order of Merit winner
Year2:2022
Award3:Asian Tour
Players' Player of the Year
Year3:2022

Sihwan Kim (born December 4, 1988) is an American professional golfer. He plays on the Asian Tour, where he has won two titles.

Amateur career

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved with his parents to California at a young age. He graduated from Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, California where he was captain of the golf team. In 2004, he won the U.S. Junior Amateur at The Olympic Club, 1 up, over David Chung. He won the Mission Hills Desert Junior and the Rolex Tournament of Champions in 2007. He advanced to the round of 16 in the 2008 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst and tied for sixth with a 11-under-par 269 at the Players Amateur.[1]

Kim attended Stanford University and played college golf with the Stanford Cardinal men's golf team between 2007 and 2011, where he was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. He played in the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational on the 2008 Nationwide Tour and recorded the lowest finish out of all the amateurs, finishing in a tie for sixth place.[1]

Professional career

Kim turned professional in 2011 and joined the European Challenge Tour in 2012, where he was runner-up at the Rolex Trophy in Switzerland behind Kristoffer Broberg in his rookie season. In 2013, he was runner-up at the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in France and the Kharkov Superior Cup in the Ukraine. He finished 9th on the Order of Merit to graduate to the 2014 European Tour, where he recorded two top-10 finishes. Playing mainly on the Challenge Tour 2015–2017 his best finish was a tied second place at the 2017 Swedish Challenge behind Estanislao Goya of Argentina.[2]

Kim started playing on the Asian Tour in late 2017 after finishing tied 8th at Q-School.[3] In 2018, he finished 8th on the Order of Merit after recording a solo-second at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship. In 2022, after several close calls, he won his first Asian Tour title at the International Series Thailand, a week after finishing tied-second at the Royal's Cup behind Chan Shih-chang.[4] The next month, he won the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge in Thailand, two points ahead of Maja Stark in second, after holing a 40-foot putt for eagle on the final hole.[5] He finished the season 1st in the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Kim joined LIV Golf in 2022 and finished in the top-24 to earn a guaranteed spot for 2023. In 2023, he finished 50th and last in the 2023 LIV Golf League and was relegated. He finished no higher than 33rd in any of the 13 individual events, and was last four times.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (2)

Asian Tour wins (2)

Legend
International Series (1)
Other Asian Tour (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1Mar 6, 2022International Series Thailand−26 (62-72-65-63=262)2 strokes Phachara Khongwatmai
2Apr 17, 2022Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge149 pts (22-(2)-22-7=49)2 points Maja Stark
1Mixed event with the Ladies European Tour

Results in major championships

Tournament20222023
Masters Tournament
PGA ChampionshipT62
U.S. Open
The Open ChampionshipCUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Men's Golf Roster: Sihwan Kim . Stanford University . 4 May 2022.
  2. Web site: Sihwan Kim – Profile . European Tour . 4 May 2022.
  3. Web site: Sihwan Kim – Profile . Asian Tour . 4 May 2022.
  4. Web site: Kim breaks his duck at Black Mountain . Golf Australia . 4 May 2022.
  5. Web site: Sihwan Kim in front at weather affected Stableford Challenge . Golf Australia . 4 May 2022.