Kim, 23, held a five-shot lead after round three and birdied the first three holes in his final round on Sunday.

The world number 473 was 27 under par overall and has qualified for next week's Open Championship at Carnoustie.

Italy's Francesco Molinari continued his recent fine form to finish second with US players Joel Dahmen, Bronson Burgoon and Sam Ryder on 19 under.

Kim threw his arms aloft as his final putt dropped to seal a win which arrived one day after his 25th birthday. He had played in 84 PGA Tour events before the John Deere, with a best finish of third at the 2017 Safeway Open.

"I feel like I've been running on fumes the entire back nine," said Kim.

"I'm just super thankful to my parents, team, coaches, friends and family. It's been a tough first half of the year but to finish off this means a lot. The last couple of weeks I felt my game was getting there, I just got off to a great start on Thursday and kept it going."

Kim dropped just three shots in 72 holes to lift a trophy previously held twice by Jordan Spieth and three times by Steve Stricker.

His mark of 27 under eclipsed the tournament record set when Stricker won on 26 under par in 2010.