The 24-year-old South Korean fired a flawless six-under-par 64 to finish on 17 under overall, producing the joint-lowest round of the day and becoming the only player to complete the final round without a bogey.
The victory marked Kim’s first since defending the Shriners Children’s Open in October 2023, ending a 1,001-day title drought during which his confidence faded and his world ranking slipped outside the top 150.
An emotional Kim struggled to take it all in.
“I can’t really wrap my mind over it,” he said. “I’ve had a tough couple of years and learned a lot about myself. This one is for the people who stayed in my corner the whole time.”
Kim started the day one shot behind Robert MacIntyre, Matt Fitzpatrick and Min Woo Lee after fog delays pushed the third round into Sunday morning.
He made his move with birdies on three of his opening seven holes before adding further gains on the 10th and 12th to seize control. Lee briefly closed to within one shot with a birdie at the 14th, but Kim responded with a superb approach to six feet on the 16th before converting the birdie that effectively sealed victory.
“That second shot on 16 might be one of the best shots I’ve hit in my career,” Kim said.
Lee finished alone in second, while MacIntyre, Fitzpatrick, Keita Nakajima and Johnny Keefer shared third on 13 under.
MacIntyre’s hopes of a second home title faded after four bogeys in a seven-hole stretch, although he rallied with an eagle at the 12th and two late birdies.
“I made too many mistakes,” the Scot said. “But the last two weeks have been positive, so there are good signs.”
Rory McIlroy closed with a 64 to finish tied for seventh after a third-round 73 left him with too much ground to make up.
The win earns Kim 1.2 million pounds, a return to the world’s top 50 and places in next year’s Masters and PGA Championship. Keefer, Michael Thorbjornsen and Victor Perez also secured the final qualifying spots for this week’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
