Michael Kim seals his maiden DP World Tour title after a superb up-and-down from the bunker on the last hole to win the FedEx Open de France.
Kim saved his best until last on Sunday, firing birdies at the 16th and 17th to take the outright lead before producing a stunning sand save on the 18th for an unlikely par and a 16 under total to secure a one-stroke victory over playing partner Elvis Smylie and an inspired Jeong weon Ko.
The American’s heroics on the closing hole broke the hearts of the French crowd, who were denied the chance to see home favorite Ko contest a play-off after he had set the target at 15 under thanks to some fireworks of his own.
With third-round co-leaders Min Woo Lee, of Australia, and American Brooks Koepka unable to catch him at the summit over their closing holes, Kim’s flawless final-round 65 proved enough for his first worldwide victory for over seven years, having last won the 2018 John Deere Classic on the PGA TOUR.
Kim started the day one shot off the pace but, in perfect scoring conditions at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche, he joined the lead with a birdie from almost 40 feet at the second.
He turned in 33 after picking up further shots on the seventh and ninth before a four-foot birdie on the tenth brought him within one stroke of the lead.
Five successive pars saw him stay in touch with the leaders before he grabbed a share of the lead on 15 under with a close-range birdie at the 16th.
He looked to have wrapped up victory when he overtook early clubhouse leader Ko with a birdie from seven feet on the 17th but there were twists and turns still to come.
Needing a par at the last to seal the deal, Kim found a bunker and faced a tricky up-and-down.
After escaping the sand, he left himself 16 feet for his par and pulled off an incredible save to set a target no-one else could match.
He finished on 16 under par, one ahead of Australia’s Smylie and home hero Ko, who fired two eagles in a breathtaking 65 of his own to jump a massive 75 places on the Race to Dubai Rankings to 59th and secure his playing rights for 2026.
Five-time Major Champion Koepka finished alone in fourth on 14 under after playing the back nine in one over par.
There were 36 eagles carded over the week in France, resulting in 900 trees being planted as part of the tournament’s Eagles for Good campaign, run in collaboration with FedEx and the Arbor Day Foundation.
Player quotes
Michael Kim: It feels amazing. I haven’t won a tournament since 2018 at the John Deere Classic and I really wanted to put on a good showing here this week. I’m just so happy and grateful that I was able to come out with the victory.
I’ve had a really good year on the PGA TOUR this year. This feels like the perfect cherry on top and I hope to continue this throughout my career.
To be honest I felt like I hit a decent bunker shot. That green slides away so much that I knew it was going to be quick and it just didn’t run out as much as I thought.
Elvis (Smylie) gave me a decent look from the side and it somehow stayed pretty straight through the middle and I kind of blacked out when the putt went in.
About the DP World Tour
The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf tour of the European Tour group.
As golf’s global tour, we showcase global talent in global destinations and use our platform to build, entertain and connect our global community.
GLOBAL TALENT:Â We provide pathways and a platform for the leading international talent, bringing together golfing icons, national heroes and emerging stars from around the world.
GLOBAL DESTINATIONS: We stage tournaments in iconic cities and locations around the world and each week we celebrate and showcase the rich diversity of the courses, cities and cultures we visit.
GLOBAL COMMUNITY:Â We build, entertain and connect communities through our commitment to innovation, creative content and having a positive social and environmental impact.
Our 2025 Global Schedule features 42 tournaments in 26 different countries and comprises three distinct phases: five ‘Global Swings’, the ‘Back 9’ and the ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’. It features five Rolex Series events – the premium category of events on the DP World Tour – and four Major Championships, all of which count towards the Race to Dubai Rankings, the Tour’s season-long competition which concludes at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, has been the title partner of the DP World Tour since the start of the 2022 season, the Tour’s 50th season following its formation in 1972.
We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, Aldar, BMW, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Emirates, Fortinet, Nexo and Vestas as Official Partners.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group administers the DP World Tour, the HotelPlanner Tour, the Legends Tour and the G4D Tour and, as the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, stages golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup, in partnership with the PGA of America.
The European Tour group has Strategic Partnerships with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour, the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association (CGA), the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), and the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India. These partnerships provide global pathways for players from across the world to compete internationally on the DP World Tour, the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group which was established in 1972, as well as the HotelPlanner Tour.
