Chan Kim takes home Boise Open crown, punches ticket to PGA Tour

Aug 26, 2023

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The Boise Open kicked off the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour finals, with the champion of the event booking his spot in next year’s PGA Tour,

Chan Kim, who held a two-stroke lead heading into the final round, fought off a ferocious charge from David Kocher, who finished in second, to win the Boise Open and ensured himself of a promotion to the PGA Tour.

The top 30 finishers in the season-long KTP standings earn a spot on the PGA Tour in 2024. Kim’s win sees him jump to second place in the standings, a ten-spot jump.

“It means the world to me,” Kim said about earning his tour card. “This is what I came here to do. That was the goal from the beginning of the year. I took the risk of coming over here to play instead of playing in Japan. To achieve the goal is great. Now I’d like to finish off strong.”

Not only was his score of 28-under-par impressive, it came in historic fashion. Kim didn’t record a single bogey all weekend, the first time a winner has ever done so on the KFT.

“That is incredibly special to make history,” Kim said. “As athletes, that’s what we strive for and we want to be number one. We want to stay there as long as we can. To do something like that, with how good these guys are, it’s going to happen again…I’m happy to have it right now.”

Kim’s round was identical to his one on Saturday, shooting 7-under-par. But included on Sunday was an eagle on the par-5 third hole. It was his only eagle all weekend, coming at the right time.

He nearly had another eagle on the par-5 16th hole Sunday, but just missed the putt wide. He settled for a birdie on the hole, but it was still a big putt to give him some more cushion with Kocher shooting a 59 earlier in the day.

Teeing off five groups ahead of Kim, Kocher was on fire on the front nine with birdies on seven of nine holes. He added three more on the back nine along with an eagle on hole 16, to add more pressure on Kim atop the leaderboard.

“I was watching the leaderboard the whole day,” Kim said. “At first it was the guys in my group, then I looked at the board and on hole 12 he’s right there. I heard a roar on 16 and I’m assuming (he made) an eagle. To shoot a 59 on the final round is unbelievable golf. He gave me a run for my money and I had to keep my head down and get after it. The birdie on 16 helped and gave me a nice cushion.”

Kocher kept warm on the practice green in case of a playoff, but Kim erased any idea of that with a strong and steady finish. It was the second-straight victory on the KFT for Kim, winning the Magnit Championship last week in New Jersey. These were his first two wins on the KFT.

“Absolutely not,” Kim when asked if he’s ever played as well as he had in the last couple weeks. “Especially this week going bogey-free for 72 holes. 26 birdies and an eagle. I knew for sure somebody was going to go low today. I knew I had to go low. I played well all week and honestly if I lost by two or three or four, I wouldn’t have been shocked. As long as I played well, I’ve done all I can do.”

It’s been a long road for Kim to get on the PGA Tour after turning pro in 2010. He’s played in some PGA Tour events in the past with sponsor exemptions but has never had official tour status until now.

He has been playing on the Japan Golf Tour and decided to participate on the KFT this season, citing the additional cards given out by the tour this season as one of the reasons. Born in South Korea, raised in Hawaii and attending Arizona State, Kim is well traveled and has seen all the hard work he has put in finally pay off.

“It has been a long journey,” Kim said. “The end goal was always to play on the PGA Tour. I’d love to be number 1 in the world. We’ve got better players and guys that are shooting lower scores. It’s going to be a grind, but I enjoy it and I’m looking forward to it.”