2 Koreans vying for $10 mil. jackpot at PGA Tour playoff finale
Kim Si-woo of Korea plays his shot from the eighth tee during the second round of the BMW Championship 2026 at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis, Missouri, Friday (local time), in this Getty Images photo. AFP-Yonhap
Two Korean players will tee off at an exclusive-field PGA Tour playoff finale this week, with the winner's prize money of $10 million on the line.
Kim Si-woo and Tom Kim will be among 30 players competing at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta starting Thursday.
Only the top 30 players in FedEx Cup points after the second playoff event, the BMW Championship last week, qualified for the Tour Championship.
Both Kims — unrelated — will play in their first Tour Championship since 2023.
Kim Si-woo is No. 5 in the FedEx Cup standings, the only player inside the top seven without a victory this year. He has recorded 11 top-10 finishes, the second-highest total behind only world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who has had a dozen top-10s.
A model of consistency all year, Kim also leads the tour with 51 rounds in the 60s and 62 under-par rounds.
Tom Kim is the only Korean player to have won on the PGA Tour this year, having claimed the Genesis Scottish Open title in July for his first victory since October 2023. Kim ranked 29th in FedEx Cup points after the BMW Championship.
Tom Kim of Korea plays his shot from the eighth tee during the second round of the BMW Championship 2026 at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis, Missouri, Friday (local time), in this Getty Images photo. AFP-Yonhap
These two Koreans tied for 20th place at their previous Tour Championship appearance in 2023. Both East Lake Golf Club and the tournament format have undergone significant changes since then.
Immediately after the 2023 Tour Championship, East Lake had a $30 million renovation on tees, fairways, greens and bunkers. Also, the PGA Tour eliminated the "starting strokes" system last year. Until 2024, the leader in FedEx Cup points started the Tour Championship at 10-under, with No. 2 beginning at eight-under, and so forth. Higher-ranked players no longer enjoy a massive advantage, with everyone starting from zero now.
With the total purse of $40 million, the Tour Championship is the most lucrative tournament of the year. The winner will take home $10 million.
Only four players have made more than $10 million so far this season. Kim Si-woo has earned about $9.7 million, and Tom Kim has collected some $4.8 million.
No Korean has won a Tour Championship.