'Twenty-year-old' Kim Juhyung, Will He Win the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award?

Only Winner but Dropped in FedEx Cup Rankings
Strong Contender Cameron Young... Sahis Tigala Joins
Player of the Year Candidates: McIlroy, Scheffler, Smith

Kim Juhyung

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Kim Joo-hyung (20) has not only secured a spot in the 2022/2023 season of the PGA Tour but has also been named a candidate for the 2021/2022 Rookie of the Year award.

The PGA Tour announced the list of candidates for Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year for the 2021/2022 season on the 6th (Korean time). The Rookie of the Year candidates include Kim Joo-hyung, Cameron Young, and Sahith Theegala (all from the United States).

Kim Joo-hyung participated in 11 PGA Tour events this year, capturing the winner's trophy at the Wyndham Championship in August. He also achieved strong results such as 3rd place at the Scottish Open and 7th place at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He finished the season ranked 35th in the FedEx Cup standings, which convert season performance into points and rankings.

The Rookie of the Year award, known as the 'Arnold Palmer Award,' is decided by votes from players who have participated in 15 or more official events during the 2021/2022 season. Voting closes at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the 9th, and the winner will be announced later.

The strongest candidate for Rookie of the Year is Young. He competed in 25 events this season and finished as runner-up five times, including at The Open, Sanderson Farms Championship, Genesis Invitational, Wells Fargo Championship, and Rocket Mortgage Classic. Although he has no wins, he leads the candidates with a 19th place ranking in the FedEx Cup standings.

Theegala competed in 32 events, recording a runner-up finish at the Travelers Championship and a 3rd place at the Phoenix Open. He is ranked 28th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Among the candidates, Kim Joo-hyung is the only one with a victory, which is a strong point. However, in recent Rookie of the Year voting, FedEx Cup points rankings have carried more weight than whether a player has won. For example, Im Sung-jae (24), who was the first Asian player to win the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in the 2018/2019 season, had no wins among the candidates but had the highest FedEx Cup points.

The Player of the Year candidates include FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), world number one Scottie Scheffler (United States), and Open Championship winner Cameron Smith (Australia). Since Smith recently moved to the LIV Golf Invitational Series, he is expected to be at a disadvantage in the voting competition.

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