Kim Si-woo finishes runner-up at CJ Cup Byron Nelson, misses chance to end title drought

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- Kim Si-woo has come up short in a bid to end his three-year PGA Tour title drought near his home in Texas, settling for his second runner-up finish of the year instead.

Kim finished alone in second place at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, on Sunday (local time) with a four-round total of 27-under 257. After shooting six-under 65 in the final round, Kim ended up three shots behind the champion, Wyndham Clark of the United States, who carded an 11-under 60 in the final round to finish at 30-under 254.

Kim's most recent PGA Tour win came in January 2023 at the Sony Open.

Kim, the 30-year-old South Korean who lives in nearby Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex, began the final round with a two-stroke lead over Clark and another American, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, at 21-under.

Kim did his part early on at the par-71 course, going out in 33 with four birdies and a bogey. Clark, playing in the penultimate group right in front of Kim, had four birdies on the front nine to move within one of Kim at the turn.

Clark stayed hot with his putter down the stretch, draining five birdies and an eagle to complete his big rally.

Clark's eagle on the par-5 12th pulled him to a tie with Kim at 26-under. Both players birdied the 14th, and then Clark birdied the 15th to go up by one at 28-under with Kim unable to match him and taking par there to remain at 27-under.

With the next group at 23-under, the tournament became a two-horse race between Clark and Kim.

Clark picked up his eighth birdie of the day on the par-3 17th for a two-shot lead over Kim.

Kim couldn't keep up, as he put his tee shot on the 17th in a bunker en route to a par that left him two behind Clark with one hole to go.

Clark capped his victory by putting his second shot to the 18th green just two feet from the hole and tapping in for his ninth birdie of the day. Kim, still on the fairway on the final hole at the moment, now found himself down by three with no chance for a comeback.

Kim made par on the 18th to record his career-high seventh top-10 finish of the season. This was also Kim's second runner-up showing in 2026, after he'd tied for second at the Farmers Insurance Open in February.

Kim said afterward he still had some positive takeaways from the tournament, despite losing his lead on Sunday.

"With this second-place finish, it's clear that I am having a good season. I've been in contention before this season and I felt pretty comfortable on the course. I wasn't really nervous," Kim said. "I don't think I've ever putted this well when contending for a title, so that's a positive. We still have a lot more tournaments to play and I will work on a few things and try to win."

Kim said he felt it would be difficult to rally after watching Clark's birdie on the 17th green.

"I think I played well, though things could have been better on the eighth and the ninth holes," Kim said, referring to holes where he made bogey and par. "And there's nothing I can do against a player who shoots 11-under. Congrats to Wyndham. He played great."

Kim said newfound confidence has been the biggest force behind his strong 2026 campaign.

"In the past, I didn't know I was a good player. But fellow players and other people around me kept telling me I was a much better player than I thought myself," Kim said. "I changed my perspective and it gave me a lot more confidence. I think I can continue to play well from here and on."

Thanks to his latest runner-up finish, Kim rose to his career-high No. 19 in the world rankings.

Kim jumped five spots in the latest rankings released after the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Kim's previous career high was No. 20, which he reached in the first week of May.

On the money list, Kim went up three spots to No. 8 with a career-best US$6,040,361. He sits fifth in the FedEx Cup standings with 1,704 points. Kim is the only player inside the top five without a victory this year.