Showing that his breakout performance at the Presidents Cup wasn’t just a fluke, Tom Kim rallied to pick up the win at the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin this weekend. The 20-year-old picked up his second win on the Tour, edging out Patrick Cantlay by three strokes, shooting -24.
Kim’s Tour Now It Seems
Sportsbooks may have eaten it this weekend because Kim was a very popular betting option at +2200 after his energetic performance at the Presidents Cup.
When it looked like the Presidents Cup may have been over on a Saturday, Kim helped rally the International team with a win over Xander Schauffele and Cantlay, celebrating with a walk-off putt on 18 that even the American fans were howling over.
It looks like Kim’s meteoric rise at the Presidents Cup was just the tip of the iceberg, as he became the first player since Joaquin Niemann at last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic to not tally a bogey over an entire tournament.
The Shriners Children’s Open was Kim’s first event of the 2022/23 season, but it’s now his second win in his last four tournaments after taking home the Wyndham Championship in early August.
This was also the second event Kim has had Joe Skovron on the bag as caddie following the Presidents Cup, so that looks like a great pairing. Skovron spent 12 years as Rickie Fowler’s caddie prior to teaming up with Kim.
Kim – who doesn’t turn 21 until June – is six months younger than Tiger Woods when he claimed his second Tour win.
Wasn’t to Be for Cantlay
Cantlay was the overwhelming +600 favorite heading into the weekend, as he has been nothing short of dominant at TPC Summerlin. He won this event the first time he played in it in 2017, followed that up with runner-ups in 2018 and 2019, and finished eighth in 2020. After not playing here in 2021, Cantlay was aiming to return and continue his success – and he did for 71 holes.
Cantlay unbelievably triple-bogeyed the 18th hole on Sunday to finish three strokes back of Kim. Fans were possibly hoping for a playoff between Kim and Cantlay to rekindle their Presidents Cup rivalry, but a pulled drive and then an unplayable lie ended up making the finish very anticlimactic.
Cantlay still now has four finishes in the top two in his last five Shriners Children’s Open, and he’s stayed at fourth in the OWGR.
No Super Longshot This Week
Kim didn’t have horrible odds at +2200, and he was likely on a lot of tickets playing in his first event since the Presidents Cup. Even so, that ROI is nowhere near the +13000 that Mackenzie Hughes bettors got for his Sanderson Farms Championship win last weekend.
This looked like Cantlay’s – and then Kim’s – tournament to win most of the weekend in Summerlin. Matthew NeSmith (+8000) was in the mix, tying for second place, while Tom Hoge (+5500) was one of three players in fourth.
