Kim Joo-hyung Ties for Sixth in Return After Two Months; 'Novak Wins by Five'

VidantaWorld Mexico Open: 5-under final-round charge
Asian Games gold and military service exemption fuel Kim's strong run
Novak claims second career win; Daly II ties for 48th

Kim Joo-hyung, a gold medalist at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, finished in the top 10 in his first PGA Tour event in two months.

On Monday (Korea time), Kim carded six birdies and one bogey in the fourth round of the VidantaWorld Mexico Open, the fifth event of the PGA Tour Fall Series, at VidantaWorld Vallarta (par 71) in Bahia de Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico. He shot a final-round 66, five under par, to finish tied for sixth at 18-under 266. The tournament had a total purse of $6 million.

Kim Joo-hyung finished tied for sixth at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open. AFP-Yonhap.

Kim had not competed in a PGA Tour event since the Tour Championship in late August, about two months earlier. After winning the individual gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 3, he received an exemption from mandatory military service and took time to rest and recharge.

Starting the final round tied for ninth, 10 shots off the lead, Kim made birdies on the third and sixth holes, both par 5s. He immediately made up for a bogey on the par-3 seventh with a birdie on the par-5 eighth. After going two under on the front nine, Kim put on a flawless performance on the back nine, adding three birdies on the 10th, 12th and 14th holes. His driving accuracy stood out at 84.62%, and he averaged 1.57 putts per hole when he hit the green in regulation.

Andrew Novak shot a two-under 69 to win by five strokes at 25-under 259. It was Novak's first individual PGA Tour victory and his second overall, following the team event at the 2025 Zurich Classic. He earned $1.08 million (about 1.4 billion won).

Steven Fisk of the United States and Kristoffer Ventura of Norway finished tied for second at 20-under 264, while Daly II, son of "wild man" John Daly, finished tied for 48th at 8-under 276.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.