Michael Kim (-16) has claimed victory at the FedEx Open de France, a DP World Tour event held from Thursday to Sunday at the Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche in Paris, near Versailles. An extraordinary final round of 65 strokes, crowned with a huge par putt from just over five metres on the 18th, allowed the American golfer of South Korean descent to secure the second professional win of his career and his first on the European circuit… where he barely needed a couple of weeks to make his debut!
Before this French Open, Kim had played in some of the classic co-sanctioned tournaments by the European tour and the PGA Tour in the United States (the Barbasol, the ISCO, the Barracuda…) and had been a couple of times at the Genesis Scottish Open. But his first regular calendar tournament of the DP as such, excluding the Majors, was last week at Wentworth. He failed to make the cut and finished in a tie for 99th place. Seven days later, he made his mark. A true ‘white-collar’ theft from the circuit players and none other than Brooks Koepka (-14).
CLUTCH! @Mike_kim714 holes a 16ft par putt to get in the clubhouse at -16 💪#FedExOpenDeFrance pic.twitter.com/18PhSUtcVq
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 21, 2025
Michael, who until this Sunday only had the victory at the John Deere Classic (an incredible tournament where he won by eight strokes) on his record, started the day tied for second place, one stroke behind the leaders. And although he began with three under par on the first nine holes with three flawless birdies and signed another on the 10th after a wonderful recovery from the rough, he didn’t seem to be in the equation. All eyes were on Brooks, Min Woo Lee (-13), and Marcus Armitage (-13).
However, in the final holes, everything changed. Elvis Smylie (-15), with a good birdie on the 14th and another spectacular one on the 16th, sinking a putt of more than five metres, was the first to open the range of contenders for the win. Jeong Weon Ko (-15), a Frenchman of Asian descent, turned the spectacular Parisian course upside down with an eagle on the 16th that allowed him to take the lead in the Clubhouse and dream of victory. But the glory was reserved for Kim, who left it a couple of inches from the hole with an approach on the 16th and sank a birdie on the 17th to head into the final hole as the solo leader.
Another twist👀
Michael Kim takes the outright lead so late in the day ⚡#FedExOpenDeFrance pic.twitter.com/9uJM80chCV
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 21, 2025
By then, Min Woo Lee, very accurate from the tee but disastrous with the irons, seemed already out of the fight. Meanwhile, Koepka, who had managed to resolve each and every one of the troubles he got into with an erratic swing with the driver, made an unexpected bogey on the 15th, perhaps the only hole in the final stretch of the second half of his round where he had managed to ‘hit’ the fairway, and did not take advantage of the par five on the 16th, leaving the door wide open for the American golfer, who did not miss the opportunity.
Although his tee shot on the 18th was not good, sending his ball into the bunker, and his recovery from the sand was not particularly good, Michael completed an almost flawless day on the greens with that final five-metre winning putt. Armitage, in his match, sent his approach into the water, ruining his great week and eliminating himself from the small group of players who could still force a playoff. The other two, Lee and Koepka, passed without glory through the 17th, and on the last flag, only a hole-in-one would suffice, which, evidently, did not happen.
Thus, the 32-year-old player, from the generation of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, or Max Homa, among others, certifies his first triumph on the DP World Tour, becomes the fourth American to win the Open de France, the oldest continental tournament on the tour, joining the names of Walter Hagen (1920), Byron Nelson (1955), and Barry Jaeckel (1972), secures the European tour card… and even gives himself a chance to get into the final in Abu Dhabi if he manages to score some more points playing in the coming weeks (perhaps starting in Spain?). A ‘white-collar’ theft in Versailles in a tournament that came as one of the top 10 entries among the top 70 ranked in the FedEx Cup of the PGA Tour after the TOUR Championship.
