Amongst the sounds of baseball parents rooting for their kids at the park by No. 4 fairway and loved ones cheering for newlyweds at a reception alongside the SCGA scoring tent, it was a true celebration of public golf at the 52nd Public Links Championship held at Recreation Park GC and Eldorado Park GC.
“I never thought I was going to make the playoff, let alone win the entire Championship,” said Myoung Kim, 2019 Public Links Champion.
Kim fell into a sudden-death playoff with Scott Blair of Irvine, and it wasn't until No. 5 when Kim was able to come out on top. The duo played flawless golf until the final playoff hole, when Blair flared it into the fourth fairway, but Kim was left with a fairway bunker shot. Kim hit a stunning shot out of the sand, with a long putt for birdie. Blair had some trouble around the greens, leaving Kim with the opportunity to three-putt for the win.
Eldorado Park GC did not make the final round easy, with consistent, cool breezes throughout the track and misleading greens leaving most players scratching their heads at one point throughout the day.
“The wind in the afternoon made it tough out here, but my driving was on point all weekend so that helped out a lot,” Kim said.
Fresh off of winning conference with Orange Coast College, he’s looking to keep the momentum going.
“I’m exhausted, but I gotta keep going, I have another tournament this week. I would say that a win like this is definitely good momentum,” Kim said.