Kim's poor season makes PLAYERS win even more shocking

At an age when most young adults are figuring out what to do for a summer job between semesters at post-secondary school, Si Woo Kim is cashing cheques for $1.89 million.

The 21-year-old South Korean became the youngest player ever to win THE PLAYERS Championship on Sunday, and he did it with relative ease over one of the strongest fields in golf.

It's one of the most shocking wins on Tour in recent memory, as Kim entered play a massive 400-1 underdog to take home the trophy.

Prior to entering play on Thursday, the 75th-ranked golfer in the world had just one top-10 finish this season, and that came all the way back in October at the CIMB Classic. With just $456,598 earned, the Seoul native ranked 124th on the money list and had 10 missed cuts or withdrawls this season.

Kim won the Wyndham Championship last August and had a very productive 2015-16 campaign on Tour. He posted five top-10 finishes and made over $3 million through 34 events, but fell apart this season as he battled back problems.

The difference in statistics from his numbers this season to the four rounds at TPC Sawgrass are absolutely staggering.

While he may be largely unknown to American golf fans, there's a ton to like about the young South Korean, not just his massive potential at such a young age.

As he showed in Saturday's third round, Kim is as fearless as any player on Tour. Very few golfers will hit driver off the fairway, but Kim showed no hesitation in smashing a 268-yard big stick from the rough, finding the green with an incredible shot.

Under intense pressure in the final round, Kim only found 8-of-18 greens in regulation - numbers that befit the regular golfer's game at the local municipal level and not a PGA Tour player. The reason he was still able to score on the challenging layout was world-class wizardry around the greens, as he was 10-for-10 in scrambling throughout the final round.

Standing on the difficult 18th tee with a three-shot lead, most players would use an iron off the tee to ensure an accurate shot in the fairway on the course's toughest hole. Not Kim, as he launched a sweeping draw with a 3-wood down the fairway, flirting with the massive lake, but ending up in perfect position.

A fearless 21-year-old who scrambles as well as anybody on tour, and hits driver off the deck from gnarly rough? Yup, it's really easy to root for the 2017 PLAYERS Champion Si Woo Kim.