Page 16 - Golf Champion - February 2021

[PGA TOUR]

A QUINTA, Calif. – Every time Si Woo Kim looked up
Lat the leaderboards on the back nine Sunday at The
American Express, he seemed to see another Patrick
Cantlay birdie being posted. But not even a career-best
11 birdies and 11-under 61 from Cantlay could keep Kim
from his third career PGA TOUR victory and first since
THE PLAYERS Championship in 2017. He closed with an
8-under 64 which tied for the second best round of the
day and was his third bogey-free round of the week.
“I had many chances since PLAYERS. I had many chances
to win, but I couldn't make it, but finally I made it,” Kim
said. “So I tried to keep composure and I made it. I'm so
happy with that.”
Despite being just 25 years old, Kim, who earned his PGA
TOUR card at the age of 17, felt the weight of that nearly
four-year wait since his last victory. That pressure made
sleeping on the 54-hole co-lead Saturday night a difficult
proposition.
“So every year I had a chance to win, but I couldn't make
it, so I had a lot of thoughts in my mind last night,” Kim
said. “I tried to sleep but I couldn't sleep, so I even took
melatonin last night, but still I didn't sleep very well.”
Cantlay certainly didn’t make it any more comfortable
on him on the course either, posting arguably what
might be the best final round of the 2021 season to date.
After grabbing the lead with a front-nine 30, Cantlay
poured in five more on the back nine including a 38-foot
drifter at the last to post 22-under nearly an hour before

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