Kim Si-woo comes up short in bid to win Jack Nicklaus' tournament

Sports 08:11 June 05, 2023

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Kim Si-woo has fallen short in his bid to win a prestigious PGA Tour event hosted by the great Jack Nicklaus, instead settling for his second top-five finish in his past four starts.

In this Getty Images photo, Kim Si-woo of South Korea tees off on the 13th hole during the final round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, on June 4, 2023. (Yonhap)

Kim finished alone in fourth place at the Memorial Tournament in Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, on Sunday (local time), at five-under 283. Kim started the final round tied for the lead with Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and David Lipsky of the United States at six-under.

None of the three carded an under-par round, with Kim shooting a 73 after posting six birdies, five bogeys and one double bogey.

Nicklaus, one of the greatest golfers of all time with a record 18 professional majors to his name, founded the Memorial Tournament in 1976 and hosts the event on the course that he designed.

Only one South Korean player has won the Memorial: Choi Kyoung-ju in 2007.

In this Getty Images photo, Kim Si-woo of South Korea hits out of a bunker on the 10th hole during the final round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, on June 4, 2023. (Yonhap)

Kim was going for his second win of the 2022-2023 season. He had finished tied for second place at another tournament bearing a legend's name, AT&T Byron Nelson, on May 14.

Kim appeared to take himself out of contention by bogeying the three of the first four holes.

But the South Korean bounced back with four birdies over the next five holes to make the turn at seven-under, one behind the leader Denny McCarthy.

Kim gave a shot back with a bogey at the 10th, after putting his second shot into a greenside bunker.

A double bogey at the 14th sealed Kim's fate, as it dropped him to five-under for the tournament, three behind McCarthy, with four holes to play.

Birdies at the 15th and the 18th weren't nearly enough for Kim, who ended finished two shots out of a playoff between McCarthy and the eventual winner, Viktor Hovland.