Si Woo Kim shot an eight under 64, just enough to hold off Patrick Cantlay’s final-round charge and wrap up The American Express tournament in La Quinta, California on Sunday.
Kim’s third consecutive bogey-free round included eight birdies, with back-to-back shots picked up at the 16th and 17th before a closing par on the Stadium Course. It was Kim’s third career win on the PGA Tour, and he finished third at last week’s Sony Open.
The South Korean held off Cantlay, who fired the best round of the day, 11 under 61, to finish at 22 under. He set the course record by two strokes in the process. He also finished bogey-free on the day, one of five players to do so, with 11 birdies and seven pars, accelerating his pace from Saturday’s 65 that kept him in contention.
Kim said he was well aware of how well Cantlay was playing.
“I knew Cantlay played really well. I tried to keep patient and believe in myself. I got the chance on 16 and 17, and that’s when I could make it. I feel good about myself,” Kim said.
Cantlay, who began the day tied for 13th at 11 under, posted birdies on four of his first six holes, and again on three of his final four. His nine birdies on Saturday had been his career best.
“I knew they still had a bunch of holes left, but really I put myself so behind the 8-ball,” Cantlay said, referring to shooting 69 and 71 on Thursday and Friday, respectively. “I played unbelievable this weekend. I did everything I could. Just going to be a shot short.”
Australia’s Cameron Davis finished alone in third place, his best finish on the PGA Tour, at 20 under thanks to a bogey-free eight under par 64. He was hot at the start, posting six birdies on the front nine.
Tony Finau, who began the day tied atop the leaderboard with Kim and Max Homa, could only manage a 68. He could not overcome two bogeys in a four-hole span on the back nine and finished three shots behind the eventual winner, but was not downbeat about his showing.
“A couple of those guys just went really low today. I had some opportunities, I think, to shoot a number. But man, I’m kind of leaving today pretty encouraged. I played nicely,” Finau said.
Homa had a worse fate, ballooning to a 76 thanks to four bogeys with only two birdies on Sunday.
Collated final scores & totals in the USPGA Tour The American Express, Stadium Course, La Quinta, California, United States of America (USA unless stated, par 72):
265 Si-Woo Kim (Kor) 66 68 67 64
266 Patrick Cantlay 69 71 65 61
268 Cameron Davis (Aus) 68 70 66 64
269 Tony Finau 68 66 67 68
273 Abraham Ancer (Mex) 69 65 73 66, Doug Ghim 67 68 69 69, Michael Thompson 67 72 68 66
274 Byeong-Hun An (Kor) 65 73 67 69, Paul Casey (Eng) 72 65 68 69, Brian Harman 68 68 67 71, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 69 66 69 70
275 Sung-Jae Im (Kor) 68 65 73 69, Henrik Norlander (Swe) 71 68 70 66, Rory Sabbatini (Svk) 68 69 67 71, Chase Seiffert 72 67 65 71
276 Ryan Armour 70 67 73 66, Bo Hoag 71 69 68 68, Chris Kirk 68 70 70 68, Russell Knox (Sco) 69 70 64 73, Gary Woodland 70 68 68 70
277 Rickie Fowler 73 66 70 68, Talor Gooch 74 66 65 72, Kramer Hickok 70 69 69 69, Max Homa 66 70 65 76, John Huh 68 68 70 71, Matt Jones (Aus) 70 68 67 72, Luke List 69 68 68 72, Andrew Putnam 67 69 70 71, Brendan Steele 68 68 72 69, Richy Werenski 69 68 65 75, Brandon Hagy 64 70 72 71
278 Austin Cook 68 70 74 66, Adam Hadwin (Can) 72 66 74 66, James Hahn 68 69 70 71, Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor) 68 71 71 68, Kyle Stanley 70 68 70 70
279 Bronson Burgoon 71 68 70 70, Emiliano Grillo (Arg) 69 66 68 76, Adam Schenk 68 68 71 72
280 Rhein Gibson (Aus) 70 70 69 71, Jamie Lovemark 68 71 70 71, Tyler McCumber 69 70 73 68, Alexander Noren (Swe) 67 71 70 72, Roger Sloan (Can) 69 67 69 75, Josh Teater 68 69 71 72, Matthew Wolff 72 67 71 70
281 Harry Hall (Eng) 70 70 72 69, Martin Laird (Sco) 66 74 69 72, Rob Oppenheim 69 71 67 74, Sam Ryder 67 70 72 72, Brian Stuard 74 65 72 70, Nick Taylor (Can) 68 66 74 73
282 Patton Kizzire 69 70 70 73
283 Wyndham Clark 70 70 73 70, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 67 72 72 72
284 Tyler Duncan 67 72 73 72, Cameron Tringale 68 72 72 72, Erik van Rooyen (Rsa) 70 69 76 69, Ben Martin 67 71 69 77
285 Vaughn Taylor 73 67 74 71, Jimmy Walker 69 70 70 76
286 Zach Johnson 72 68 71 75, Hank Lebioda 69 71 70 76
287 Sebastian Cappelen (Den) 70 70 78 69, Will Gordon 72 68 75 72, David Hearn (Can) 68 71 75 73, Andrew Landry 70 69 74 74
288 Nelson Ledesma (Arg) 70 70 79 69
289 Adam Long 68 70 76 75
290 Doc Redman 70 70 76 74
291 Maverick McNealy 67 73 79 72
