Kim, 20, wins way into PGA Tour, playoffs

Joohyung “Tom” Kim announced his arrival on the PGA Tour as the 20-year-old South Korean closed with a 9-under 61 for a five-shot victory in the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, making him the second-youngest winner on tour since World War II.

A marathon day because of storm delays turned into a sprint for Kim in Greensboro, N.C. He finished the third round in the morning and was two shots behind, and then shot 27 on the front nine to leave the rest of the field in his wake.

No one came close the rest of the way.

The victory gave Kim instant membership on the PGA Tour, making him eligible for the Fedex Cup playoffs that start next week. He is No. 34, assured of playing two postseason events and with a reasonable shot at getting to the finale at East Lake.

Sungjae Im, who finished seven holes Sunday morning to take the 54-hole lead, had a 68 and tied for second along with John Huh (67).

Kim is the first PGA Tour winner born after 2000. Jordan Spieth was 19 when he won the John Deere Classic for his first tour win.

“I can’t believe it,” Kim said, and then adding with a laugh, “I didn’t know golf was this stressful.”

It sure didn’t look that way for Kim, who opened the tournament with a quadruple-bogey 8, laughed it off and then finished the week at 20-under 260 at Sedgefield Country Club.

It was plenty stressful for others, even those who weren’t playing.

The heartbreak belonged to Justin Lower, who was poised to move into the top 125 in the Fedex Cup to reach the postseason and secure a full card for next season. But on the final hole, Lower hit his 60foot birdie putt a little too firm. That left him a 6-foot par putt that would have put him inside the top 125. He missed it to the right and was wiping away tears as he walked off the green.

The tour has suspended players who signed on with Saudi-funded LIV Golf, and they did not count toward the top 125 in the Fedex Cup. Lower was the equivalent of No. 128 going into the final event of the regular season.

Rickie Fowler looked to be out of luck when he missed the cut on Friday at No. 123. But enough players faded on the weekend, such as Brian Stuard, that Fowler gets to extend his season for at least another week at the Fedex St. Jude Championship next week.

Two players were knocked out of the top 125 — Matt Wallace (124) and Austin Smotherman (125), who needed par on the final hole of the second round and took double bogey.

Max Mcgreevy, who was the equivalent of No. 126, tied for fifth to move to No. 104. The other went to Kim, who was not part of the standings until he accepted membership with his win. Along with a pair of top 10s, including third place at the Scottish Open, Kim moved to No. 34.

Kim moved to No. 21 in the world ranking. Only Sergio Garcia and Rory Mcilroy reached that high in the ranking at a younger age.

• Ashleigh Buhai still managed to secure a first major title at the Women’s British Open after seeing a five-shot lead slip away in the final round.

Buhai kept her composure to beat In Gee Chun — and the setting sun — in a playoff at Muirfield, Scotland, for her first career victory in an LPGA Tour event.

With the light fading, the South African golfer made a superb bunker shot on the fourth playoff hole to leave herself with a short par putt, while Chun settled for a bogey.

Buhai, 33, calmly rolled in from less than 3 feet and then clutched her face in relief, before being drenched in water and other beverages by her entourage.

Buhai made things a lot more difficult than they had to be, though. She entered the final round with a commanding five-shot lead and was still three strokes ahead before a triple bogey on the par-4 15th that put her level with Chun.

Both players missed long birdie putts on the 18th as they settled for a playoff after finishing on 10-under 274.

Buhai shot a 4-over 75 in the final round, while Chun carded a 70.

• Jerry Kelly missed a chance to win in regulation and then made short work in the playoff with a 4-foot birdie putt to win the Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta, for his third PGA Tour Champions title of the season. Kelly closed with a 3-under 67 and won the playoff over John Huston, who shot 65.

• Callum Shinkwin claimed his second European tour title with a fourshot victory in the Cazoo Open in Newport, Wales.

The Englishman shot 1-under 70 in the final round and finished on 12-under 272 overall at Celtic Manor, where he has now finished first, fourth and eighth in his last three visits.

A late charge from Scotland’s Connor Syme (68) secured second place on eight under.

MOTORSPORTS Harvick ends slump at 65 races at Michigan

Kevin Harvick got his groove back, fittingly at one of his favorite tracks.

Harvick ended a 65race winless drought that lasted nearly nearly two years with his sixth victory at Michigan International Speedway.

“Good timing, for sure,” he said.

The No. 4 Ford pulled away from Bubba Wallace and the rest the field following a restart with 35 laps to go. The Stewart-haas Racing driver took advantage of clean air, helping him coast to his 59th victory, including five wins since 2018 on the 2-mile oval in southern Michigan.

Wallace finished second in his No. 23 Toyota — 2.9 seconds behind Harvick — followed by Denny Hamlin in his No. 11 Toyota.

• Scott Dixon passed Mario Andretti for second on Indycar’s all-time wins list with a victory in the Music City Grand Prix that pulled him within reach of a recordtying seventh series title.

Dixon overcame a poor qualifying effort, damage to his Chip Ganassi Racing car, a crash-fest around the downtown streets of Nashville and finally a drag race against Scott Mclaughlin in a two-lap push to the finish. He won for the 53rd time of his career to break a tie with Andretti for second in the all-time column.

More important, Dixon jumped to second in the points standings and trails leader Will Power by six points with three races left.

• Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor won their fourth race of the year in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and head into the IMSA season finale in a winner-take-all fight between Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing for the sports car championship.

TENNIS Kyrgios, Samsonova win in Washington

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios ended a threeyear title drought by claiming the trophy at the site of his last triumph, saving the only break point he faced in the Citi Open final along the way to a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Yoshihito Nishioka.

Kyrgios’ seventh career tour-level title came where his sixth did in 2019 — on the hard courts of the U.S. Open tuneup in Washington.

Liudmila Samsonova won her second career WTA title by coming back to beat sixth-seeded Kaia Kanepi 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the women’s final.

• Seventh-seeded Daria Kasatkina of Russia rallied from one set down after dropping the opener in a tiebreaker and beat unseeded American Shelby Rogers to capture the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic championship, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-2.