The “Tom Kim Experience” appeared to need extra air a year ago, when supernova Tom Kim eventually stunned Patrick Cantlay to win the Shriners Children’s Open.
After impressing at the Presidents Cup, Kim won for the second time in four starts (starting with his first TOUR victory at the 2022 Wyndham Championship) and went bogey-free for the week in Las Vegas, becoming the first winner to do so since J.T. Poston in 2019. He became the first player to win two PGA TOUR events before turning 21 since Tiger Woods in 1996. Kim moved to Dallas and celebrated Thanksgiving at Jordan Spieth’s residence, where he made an impression with his enormous appetite.
Kim’s trajectory then dipped as swiftly as he had risen.
He consistently made the cut, but he never truly challenged for first place. On a few occasions (RBC Heritage, PGA Championship, Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Rocket Mortgage Classic), he never quite got off the ground and left on Friday afternoons.
He now views 2023 as an essential period of learning.
“All of a sudden, I’m playing on incredibly difficult, protracted golf courses. It was only the element of adjustment. I got into some spots where I feel like I didn’t really want to be in.” Kim, who will compete with Luke List and Nick Taylor for the first two rounds at the Shriners, said.
Kim started practicing with teacher Chris Como in early July, just after turning 21, and he soon saw encouraging results: a T6 at the Genesis Scottish Open and a T2 at The Open Championship. Kim, though, maintained that it went beyond that. Since every player learns skills from a range of sources while traveling, as Como himself notes, Kim also mentioned the impact of Spieth’s coach, Cameron McCormick, who he also worked with this year.
“Just combining everything, this year I’ve learned so much from Chris and Cam. I wasn’t that far away. I felt more at ease with myself after adopting a fresh viewpoint, which is especially helpful when you’re uncomfortable and thinking a lot outside.” said Kim.
Kim took a false step off the porch of his rental house, spraining his ankle, which kept him out of the game for three rounds at The Open. Following that, he took a break, skipping the Wyndham Championship in August, which would have been his maiden PGA TOUR title defense.
Nevertheless, he made it to the 50-player BMW Championship, where he finished in tenth place. This means that he will be eligible to compete in all of the golfing majors in 2024, including the TOUR Championship (T20).
His next bogey will be his first after some strong DP World Tour performances, including T6s at the Cazoo Open de France and T18s at the BMW PGA Championship. Now, he finds himself back in Vegas at a tournament.
He is aware that more perfection is not possible. Just as he now understands what to anticipate from a full PGA TOUR season, he noted, “Bogeys happen.”
“I’m playing really well. Really, as soon as we traveled to the United Kingdom at the end of last year. I become pretty good at playing now. This week, I have a solid plan of attack. Last year, it worked. I’m hoping to replicate what I accomplished last year, but ideally, I can’t do anything better than win.” said Kim.
