Michael Kim Misses Shot at Second PGA Tour Win, Ties for Sixth in Florida

Cal alum Michael Kim couldn’t secure his second career victory on the PGA Tour but he completed a fourth consecutive top-20 finishing by tying for sixth place at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches on Sunday.

Kim, 31, entered the final round alone in second place, just one stroke back of Jake Knapp. But he couldn’t keep up after shooting a final-round, even-par score of 71 at the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Joe Highsmith, a 24-year-old Pepperdine graduate, scored his first PGA victory with back-to-back weekend rounds of 7-under 64. Highsmith’s previous career earnings totaled $1,458,424, less than the $1,656,000 he collected on Sunday.

Highsmith finished at minus-19, two strokes ahead of Jacob Bridgeman and J.J. Spaun.

Max McGreevy and Ben Griffin tied for fourth at minus-16.

Kim wound up tied in sixth place with third-round leader Knapp and Russell Henley, all of them at 15 under. Each took home $310,500.

Kim had two birdies and two bogeys on Sunday after three rounds in which he played nearly flawless golf, with 16 birdies and just one bogey through 54 holes.

Already residing at a career-best 79th in the official world golf rankings, Kim is sure to climb the chart on Monday.

His performance this week follows tying for second at the Phoenix Open and 13th-place finishes at both the Genesis Invitational and the Mexico Open, all in the month of February.

Kim’s only PGA Tour victory came at the 2018 John Deere Classic.

Cal grads Collin Morikawa and Max Homa, ranked No. 5 and No. 63, respectively, in the world, did not play at the Cognizant Classic. Byeong Hun An, who played one season at Cal, missed the cut Friday after shooing even par through two rounds.