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The Desert Classic: Power ranking the top 10 golfers at PGA West

By Mike Randleman

LA QUINTA, CA - JANUARY 21: The group of Andrew Landry, Austin Cook and Martin Piller walk up the fairway during the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge at the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West on January 21, 2018 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
LA QUINTA, CA - JANUARY 21: The group of Andrew Landry, Austin Cook and Martin Piller walk up the fairway during the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge at the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West on January 21, 2018 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /
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HONOLULU, HI – JANUARY 11: Si Woo Kim of Korea plays a shot during the second round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 11, 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
HONOLULU, HI – JANUARY 11: Si Woo Kim of Korea plays a shot during the second round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 11, 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

I’m pretty convinced in my top three or four picks this week, but rounding out the top 10 involved choosing between a lot of guys who I could totally see play well this week or be a total non-factor. Si-woo Kim is one of them.

The 23-year-old South Korean has been on the scene for a while now and already well accomplished, but he’s also still young and prone to some swoons in between big checks.

Kim impressed in his one and only past start at the Desert Classic with a T9 back in 2016. He fired bookending 67s at the Stadium course and lit up the Nicklaus course with a 67. If he can right the ship at La Quinta (71), he’s shown what he can do here.

Kim also ended 2018 on a high note. His last four starts were all T26 or better including a T10 at the CIMB Classic. While he didn’t win last year, he had five top-10s (including second at the RBC Heritage) and only seven missed cuts compared to two top-10s and 10 MCs in 2017.

He might be stinging from a missed opportunity at last week’s Sony Open when he missed the cut by one and failed to birdie his par-5 final hole, but getting back to the mainland a couple days early could be a boost for this week.

He finished last season 23rd in strokes gained around the green. When on, he’s a good ball striker who depends on a good putting week to leap into contention. He was 151st in Strokes Gained putting last season and missed several short puts down the stretch when trying to win at the RBC. Perhaps that experience will help him in the long run. Plus, these greens aren’t as tricky as Hilton Head’s.

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