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Korean golfer Kim Si-woo has emerged as one of the top young guns in the PGA Tour as the 21-year-old captured the coveted Players Championship title, Sunday.
At TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the world’s No. 75 fired a three-under par 69 in the final round to notch one of the biggest tournaments on the PGA Tour at 10-under 278.
Launched in 1974, The Players Championship has been regarded as the unofficial “fifth major” with the largest purse of any tournament in golf ($1.89 million). Kim now has a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour and a three-year exemption to the Masters.
Kim is the youngest player to win The Players Championship in its 44-year history, breaking the previous record set by Adam Scott when he captured the title at age 23 in 2004.
Kim is the second Korean to win the event after the 2011 winner K.J. Choi. The win was also Kim’s second career PGA Tour win following last year’s Wyndham Championship.
This new young gun in golf also helped eclipse the age mark of the PGA Tour winners this season.
In the 2016 season, players aged over 30 such as Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson displayed their dominance.
In contrast, however, young golfers in their 20s have been showing their presence this season as 14 of 29 PGA Tour championships winners were in their 20s. Twenty-five-year-old Hideki Matsuyama and 24-year-old Justin Thomas claimed three titles each. Twenty-six-year-old Cody Gribble posted his career first PGA Tour win at the Sanderson Farms Championship last October and 22-year-old John Ram also notched his maiden PGA Tour win at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.
The upturn trend of the young arms continued in February. The world No. 5 Jordan Spieth captured the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and 28-year-old Rickie Fowler took the Honda Classic title. In April, 28-year-old Russell Henley claimed the Shell Houston Open and the 27-year-old Wesley Bryan won the RBC Heritage event.
With Kim capturing the Players Championship title, the average age of the PGA Tour winners this season will likely be under 30.