Sung Kang wins first PGA Tour title at AT&T Byron Nelson on home soil
Korean native turned Dallas resident Sung Kang wins his first PGA Tour title in his adopted hometown
A soft and wet Trinity Forest Golf Club posed no challenge for golfers this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Just the kind of conditions Sung Kang needed to get his long-awaited PGA Tour breakthrough.
The 31-year-old Korean native shot four-under 67 on Sunday to finish two shots ahead of Matt Every and Scott Piercy and win his first PGA Tour title in his 159th career start.
By the time Kang completed his final round it had already been a long and arduous day. Inclement weather caused Saturday’s third round to be postponed, forcing Kang and playing partner Every to finish the round on Sunday morning. Kang took a three-shot lead over Every into the last 18 holes, but by the 13th hole Every had managed to erase the deficit. It was a situation Kang is only too familiar with. Two years ago at the Shell Houston Open, he also had a three-shot advantage going into the final round but finished second to Russell Henley.
What he learned from that disappointment is to slow things down, perhaps even too slowly; Every openly accused him of taking too long on Saturday. Knowing it was set up to be a grueling day of golf, Kang came in with a strategy.
“I told my caddie 27 holes is going to be a long day for everyone anyway,” he said after the tournament. “As soon as you lose a little bit of focus and concentration, somebody could make a mistake. So i told my caddie when we are walking, just chilling, talking about funny things and good stuff and then as soon as we get to the ball try to really concentrate to save the energy. It just worked out great.”
Kang birdied the 14th, then on the 15th made a 22-foot putt for birdie. After Every bogeyed the same hole, Kang reopened a two-shot lead. He got it back to three on the 16th. Left with just 98 yards to the hole after his drive, he hit his approach to seven feet and converted the putt for his third straight birdie. Even with a bogey at the closing hole, Kang still won by two at 23-under, tying the tournament scoring record set by Aaron Wise last year.
Kang picked the perfect spot to become a PGA Tour champion. He was born in South Korea but currently resides in Coppell, a suburb of Dallas and a short drive from Trinity Forest. He also got to celebrate Mother’s Day with his wife and their eight-month old son. Playing in his adopted hometown, surrounded by family and a supportive crowd, Kang admits helped him get through the day.
“It was definitiely a lot easier because staying home, sleeping on my own bed. My little one is here. My wife is here, friends here,” he said. “And then the spectators. They knew I live in Coppell so they were saying, ‘Go Coppell, Go Cowboys.’ I mean, they definitely supported me a lot.”
Scoring conditions throughout the week were ideal as rain soaked the course. Four players finished at 20-under or better. Piercy finished second despite not making a bogey the entire week, the first to do so in a 72-hole PGA Tour event since 2010. Three-time major champion Brooks Koepka finished in fourth place at 20-under, three behind Kang.
Koepka will defend his PGA Championship title at Bethpage Black next week. It’s a safe bet that the scoring conditions seen in Dallas this week won’t be duplicated in New York.