Kim Si-woo finishes tied fifth at BMW Championship, fails to advance to Tour Championship

Kim Si-woo fell just short in his bid to join compatriots Im Sung-jae and An Byeong-hun in the FedExCup Playoffs finale, the Tour Championship, despite finishing a season-best tied fifth at the BMW Championship on Sunday.

Kim Si-woo plays a shot on the third hole during the final round of the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado on Sunday. [GETTY IMAGES]

Kim Si-woo fell just short in his bid to join compatriots Im Sung-jae and An Byeong-hun in the FedExCup Playoffs finale, the Tour Championship, despite finishing a season-best tied fifth at the BMW Championship on Sunday.

Kim, a four-time PGA Tour winner, signed for a closing 2-under 70 at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado to end the week on 8-under 280 and four back of winner Keegan Bradley of the U.S., who claimed his seventh Tour title by a single stroke from Adam Scott and Sam Burns after a final round 72. Kim moved up from 44th to 32nd place on the FedExCup points list, two rungs outside the top-30 who advanced into the finale.

“I tried my best and didn’t have a good start with three bogeys in my first six holes,” said Kim. “I missed some fairways which makes it difficult on this golf course but I played much better on the back nine to move up the leaderboard. I think this is my best finish this season and I’m fairly happy as I’ve been really consistent all year. It’s disappointing to miss the Tour Championship by two places but it’s still a good season,” added the Korean, who notched two top-10s and nine other top-25s this year.

Im and An carded matching 71s to end their week in tied 11th and equal 13th positions respectively and safely advanced to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta where the FedExCup winner will be crowned.

The 26-year-old Im, with seven top-10s this season, will make his sixth straight appearance at East Lake, and will start the Tour Championship on 3-under and seven shots back of Scottie Scheffler in the staggered-scoring format based on FedExCup positions entering the Playoffs finale. He ranked 11th after the BMW Championship.

It will be An’s debut appearance in the Tour Championship, thanks largely to five top-10s and six other top-25s. He will start the Tour Championship on 2-under after placing 16th on the FedExCup points list. “I’m looking forward to play in my first Tour Championship. It was one of my goals this year and I’m very proud of myself for making it,” said An, who is featuring in his seventh season on the PGA Tour.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama will be the highest ranked Asian golfer starting at East Lake after finishing third on the points list, behind top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele in second place. He will begin the week on 7-under but all eyes will be on him as to whether he can recover in time for the first round on Thursday following his withdrawal before the second round of the BMW Championship last week.

With two victories this season, including at the first Playoffs event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, the 32-year-old Matsuyama, who is a 10-time PGA TOUR winner, was tipped to carry Asia’s challenge and deliver a first FedExCup win for the region since the inception of the season-long trophy in 2007.

It was Matsuyama's first WD of the season after withdrawing five times over the prior three years as he has struggled with back and neck trouble. "We have good days and bad days," Matsuyama said in Memphis.

BY CHUAH CHOO CHIANG [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]