Midway through the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, I had dreams of K-Pop and the PGA Tour.
When Si Woo Kim (Callaway Chrome Soft X) shot a 10-under par in the second round of the tournament, I wanted him to win.
Or countryman Sungjae Im (Titleist Pro V1x), who recorded an ace in the same round.
I thought it would be great to see one of the two Korean golfers win because of the connection to the title sponsor and seeing the Bibigo signage, TV commercials and logo on Kim and Im’s shirts.
I was looking at it from the impact it would have on Korean golf and two talented Korean golfers. If they would win, it would surely be huge news in their home country.
Kim has been so close this year to winning a PGA Tour event, I wanted him to win to finally enjoy the sweet taste of victory. He hadn’t won on the tour since Sony Open back in January 2023.
Im’s victory dry spell was even longer, going back to October 2021 in the Shriners Children’s Open.
They were paired together for the first two rounds, which was brilliant marketing for the event. You couldn’t miss the Bibigo logo.
That’s when I started thinking about K-Pop, the Korean music that is taking the world by storm, highlighted by the boy band BTS.
It just seemed like it was meant to be.
Kim lost momentum in the third round when he only fired a three-under par, but he was very much in contention. He finished with a seven-under par in the final round.
Overall, he had 33 birdies.
He did everything but win, finishing second for the second time this year. He’s also had two third-place finishes and a fourth.
He deserved to win.
But it was Wyndham Clark (Titleist Pro V1x), who hadn’t won in two years and who showed his frustration earlier this season on and off the course, who registered an 11-under par in the final round to win by two strokes.
Great for Clark, who has battled some mental demons in the past and worked through them with the help of a sports psychologist who knew nothing about golf. But she knew about positivity and injecting that into Clark’s mindset.
It made for an emotional story when Clark won the U.S. Open in 2023.
He had done nothing of consequence this year to indicate he was ready to win the CJ Cup. He missed the cut in the PGA Championship.
His odds to win the CJ Cup were 40-1.
Give him credit for breaking his winless skein and punctuating it with a sizzling Sunday.
So it wasn’t the K-Pop finish I had hoped for, but Kim tried his best.
I hope he wins sometime this year. He deserves it.
And I really want Clark to win the Wyndham Championship. It’s a natural isn’t it?
