Kim Juhyung 'Now Is the Time to Rebound'

Challenge for First Win This Year at RBC Canada Open
Best Result This Season: Tied 17th in 15 Tournaments
Need to Turn the Atmosphere Around to Compete in Paris Olympics

‘PGA star attraction’ Kim Joo-hyung aims for a comeback.

Kim Juhyung

On the 30th (local time), at the Hamilton Golf & Country Club (par 70, 7,084 yards) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Kim will seek a rebound at the PGA Tour RBC Canadian Open (total prize money $9.4 million). Many top-ranked players skipped this tournament as it is held ahead of the prestigious Memorial Tournament and the major US Open. This creates a favorable situation for Kim Joo-hyung to challenge for the title.

Kim Joo-hyung has enjoyed a strong run over the past two years, securing three wins and gaining attention as a next-generation star leading the PGA Tour. However, this year he has been somewhat sluggish. In 15 tournaments, he has yet to break into the ‘top 10’ even once. His personal best this year is a tie for 17th at the WM Phoenix Open in February. Nevertheless, he has been gradually recovering, finishing tied for 26th at the major PGA Championship and tied for 24th at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, both within the top 20.

Kim’s world ranking has also dropped to 26th. Among Korean players, he is second only to An Byeong-hun, who is ranked 24th. To qualify for the Paris Olympics, he needs to secure a good result and earn a ticket. PGA Tour.com is expecting a strong performance from Kim, ranking him 11th in the power rankings for this tournament and predicting he will roar back after a long silence. Besides Kim Joo-hyung, Korea is represented by Kim Seong-hyun and Lee Kyung-hoon.

The strongest favorite for the title is Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), ranked 3rd in the world. He won this tournament in 2019 and 2022. This year’s battleground is the Hamilton Golf & Country Club, which was the venue in 2019. McIlroy set the tournament’s lowest score record then with 22 under par 258 strokes. His 2022 victory was also his first successful title defense on the PGA Tour.

World No. 12 Sahith Theegala (USA) is a dark horse. Defending champion Nick Taylor (Canada) aims to defend his home turf. He became the first Canadian to retain the national title in 69 years since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith have also stepped up to uphold the pride of Canadian golf.

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