Winner: Si Woo Kim
Around the wider world of golf: Jessica Korda won the pro division and Mardy Fish the celebrity division of the LPGA's Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions; Darren Clarke won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship on the Champions Tour; and Tyrrell Hatton won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the ET.
My Twofer Tuesday picks didn't do so well, but I did go pretty far off from the betting favorites. I had Patton Kizzire (53) and Chris Kirk (T16). I don't know what happened with Kizzire, but Kirk did well after that emotional high of locking up his card last week.
- Top10s: 3 for 6 (2 Top5s, 1 other Top10)
- Winners: 0 for 3 events
Si Woo Kim hadn't won in a couple of years, and last year at this event he had to withdraw when his back problems became too much to ignore. While I don't know that he ever doubted he would win again, I doubt any athlete can escape being concerned when they develop chronic physical problems.
It was appropriate that he would break his winless drought in the desert, don't you think?
After a restless Saturday night he began the final round with a share of the lead. But he still couldn't rest because Patrick Cantlay went absolutely nuts during the round and posted a 61, his lowest round ever on Tour, after barely making the cut! He said later that he didn't think he could have played much better, and he posted the clubhouse lead by a single shot.
Si Woo watched the leaderboard all the way to the finish, knowing he had to find some way to keep up with Cantlay's blistering pace. And while his 64 might not have been as impressive as Cantlay's, it was enough to give him a one-stroke win.
He even gave a post-round interview in English, which may have taken more courage than working through the back problems. Asian languages and English are far more different to learn than, say, English and Spanish, which share a lot of words and syntax and are therefore much easier for the speaker of one to learn how to speak in the other. Despite the inherent difficulties, Si Woo did a good job at that as well.
What else can I say? The man deserves a Limerick Summary... and here it is. Congrats, Si Woo!
Another pro breaks through a drought.
I wonder if Kim fought the doubt
That he’d soon win again?
Well, he proved that he can
Once he got his back problems worked out.
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