The end of the regular PGA Tour season will allow a number of players to take stock of their year, particularly those who will not be teeing it up in the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
The Wyndham Championship brought the curtain down on this stage of the PGA Tour season. 70 players will now have their sights set on the playoffs, while many others will be resting up ahead of the events in the Fall.
There are likely to be a few more interesting storylines in the Fall, with the number of players who automatically keep their cards dropping to 100.
And one of those dangerously close to the number has been picked out as one of the biggest surprises on tour this year – for all the wrong reasons.
Most surprising disappointment on the PGA Tour this season named
When Tom Kim shot a 62 on Saturday before going on to finish second to Scottie Scheffler at the Hero World Challenge in December, few would have imagined that the 23-year-old would go on to have such an underwhelming 2025.
Kim has registered just one top 10, while he has missed eight cuts. That has left him 94th in the FedEx Cup. And it would appear that his exemption for winning the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open is going to expire in the coming months. So he has work to do heading into 2026.
And when asked on 5 Clubs which player has caught everyone off-guard with how they have struggled, Brendon de Jonge admitted that he is baffled by what has happened to Kim this year.
“Tom Kim for one. I thought Tom Kim, the darling of the last couple of Presidents Cup, he’s well outside of that top 70, he was a guy that I really thought was ready to push on to the next level. He got three wins on the PGA Tour really quickly. He’s had a shocking year really,” he said.
Wyndham Clark also receives criticism after his mixed year
Rich Beem wondered if Kim’s antics at last year’s Presidents Cup saw him lose his confidence. Kim desperately tried to inspire the Royal Montreal crowds, but ultimately had mixed success. He also only won 1.5 points from four matches.
Of course, Kim was involved in most of the iconic moments in the event’s history when Si-woo Kim chipped in on the 16th hole on Saturday afternoon. The pair were subsequently mocked on the final green by Wyndham Clark, with Clark coming in for plenty of criticism from fans for his actions.
That would not prove to be the most recent time Clark has had to deal with a backlash. Brandel Chamblee called for Clark to be suspended after he damaged the locker room at Oakmont as he missed the cut at the US Open.
Clark is someone else who has had a largely forgettable year so far given his talent. And that prompted Johnson Wagner to pick out the 2023 US Open champion after de Jonge mentioned Kim.
“Wyndham Clark for me. 49th in the FedEx Cup right now, and he’s played better as of late. I just think when you’re in that top 50 and you’re playing in all these guaranteed money events, it’s hard to fall out of it. And he’s right on that edge of it,” he said.
“Not to mention the fact that he’s had some on course and off course temper tantrums that are a little disappointing as well. Kicking in the lockers at Oakmont. I get it, I understand frustration. And I think that was a low point for him. I think we’ve seen him hit that valley and start coming up on the other side, and I think that’s why the play has gotten so much better here in the last month.”
The good news for Clark is that he has an opportunity to end the year on a high. He will be involved in the playoffs and could still make the US Ryder Cup team in September.
It would be quite the turnaround if he was able to secure a spot on Keegan Bradley’s team for Bethpage.
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