Kim Bi-o (; born 21 August 1990) is a South Korean professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour.
Amateur career As an amateur, Kim won the Korean Amateur Open and Japan Amateur Golf Championship in 2008. He also represented Asia/Pacific in the 2008 Bonallack Trophy and South Korea in the 2008 Eisenhower Trophy.
Professional career Kim turned professional in 2009 and joined his home Korean Tour for 2010, winning the Johnnie Walker Open by 6 strokes.
At the end of the 2010 season, he entered qualifying school for the PGA Tour and gained his playing rights in eleventh place. He lost his PGA Tour card after finishing 162nd on the money list. He split his 2012 season between the OneAsia Tour and Web.com Tour. Kim won for the second time as a professional in 2011 at the Nanshan China Masters on the OneAsia Tour. He picked up his third victory at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open on the OneAsia Tour in May 2012. Along with his two victories on the OneAsia Tour in 2012, Kim won the tour's Order of Merit. With his two victories he was the leading money winner on the Korean Tour in 2012 even though he only played three events. Kim's highest World Ranking was 200th, in May 2012.
In 2013, he played on the Web.com Tour for a second season, but made only two cuts in 15 tournaments.
From 2014, he has played mainly on the Korean Tour. From 2014 to 2018 he had little success and had long spells outside the top 1000 in the world rankings. During this period his best finishes were to be fourth in the 2015 Gunsan CC Open and the 2017 DGB Financial Group Daegu Gyeongbuk Open
Kim showed a return to form in 2019. He won the NS HomeShopping Gunsan CC Jeonbuk Open, the second event of the 2019 Korean Tour season, his first win since 2012. In late September he had his second win of the season, the DGB Financial Group Volvik Daegu Gyeongbuk Open.
On 1 October 2019, the Korean Professional Golfers Association announced that Kim has been suspended for three years after making an obscene gesture during the final round of the DGB Financial Group Volvik Daegu Gyeongbuk Open, which Kim won. On the 16th hole, after a cellphone camera shutter went off during his downswing, Kim turned and flipped off the crowd, before slamming his club into the ground. Kim apologized for the gesture and decided not to appeal the suspension. His suspension was reduced to one year on 24 October, but the 10 million won fine and 120 hours of community service remained.
Amateur wins 2008 Korean Amateur Open, Japan Amateur Golf Championship
Professional wins (10) Asian Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up18 May 2022GS Caltex Maekyung Open1−9 (67-68-68-72=275)2 strokes Cho Min-gyu 1Co-sanctioned by the Korean Tour
OneAsia Tour wins (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up15 Jun 2011Nanshan China Masters−10 (74-67-71-66=278)Playoff Craig Hancock, Scott Laycock, Michael Long213 May 2012GS Caltex Maekyung Open1−15 (69-69-67-68=273)5 strokes Ryu Hyun-woo320 May 2012SK Telecom Open1−18 (68-68-67-67=270)3 strokes Park Sang-hyun 1Co-sanctioned by the Korean Tour
OneAsia Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult12011Nanshan China Masters Craig Hancock, Scott Laycock, Michael LongWon with birdie on third extra holeHancock eliminated by par on second holeLaycock eliminated by par on first hole
Korean Tour wins (9) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up18 Aug 2010Johnnie Walker Open−20 (68-65-68-67=268)6 strokes Lee Min-chang, Park Do-kyu, Yoon Jung-ho (a)213 May 2012GS Caltex Maekyung Open1−15 (69-69-67-68=273)5 strokes Ryu Hyun-woo320 May 2012SK Telecom Open1−18 (68-68-67-67=270)3 strokes Park Sang-hyun428 Apr 2019NS HomeShopping Gunsan CC Jeonbuk Open−7 (68-70-72-67=277)2 strokes Kim Tae-hoon529 Sep 2019DGB Financial Group Volvik Daegu Gyeongbuk Open−17 (69-67-67-68=271)1 stroke Kim Dae-hyun67 Nov 2021LG Signature Players Championship−23 (71-65-66-63=265)6 strokes Tom Kim78 May 2022GS Caltex Maekyung Open2 (2)−9 (67-68-68-72=275)2 strokes Cho Min-gyu85 Jun 2022SK Telecom Open (2)−19 (69-66-67-63=265)7 strokes Gang Yun-seok93 Sep 2023LX Championship−21 (65-68-67-67=267)Playoff Hwang Jung-gon 1Co-sanctioned by the OneAsia Tour 2Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
Korean Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12023LX Championship Hwang Jung-gonWon with par on second extra hole
Results in major championships Tournament201320142015201620172018U.S. OpenT45The Open ChampionshipPGA Championship Tournament20192020202120222023PGA ChampionshipCUTU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipNTCUT T = Tied CUT = missed the halfway cut NT = No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic Note: Kim never played in the Masters Tournament.
Team appearances Amateur Eisenhower Trophy (representing South Korea): 2008 Bonallack Trophy (representing Asia/Pacific): 2008
See also 2010 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
References
External links