Forget about matching Tiger Woods and Byron Nelson; Tom Kim wasn’t even thinking of ‘title defense’ at TPC Summerlin last year. You would expect it to have been different. It was his first title defense after missing the 2023 Wyndham Championship due to an ankle injury. But believe it or not, Kim was more worried about beating the heat than beating the field.

Having grown up in South Korea, Kim didn’t have to endure the dehydration that the Sin City heat brings. When he had to, it got him sick. “Dry heat definitely gets me a little off. Last two years I got sick every week because of the dry heat. I never grew up in dry heat. I was always in humidity,” the 22-year-old said from Summerlin this year. 

He did beat the heat and the field. Then 21-year-old Tom Kim became the youngest player since Tiger Woods to win thrice on Tour. He also became the first player since Byron Nelson to win the same tournament twice in the same season. But all these historic feats were as far from Kim’s mind as Vegas is from Seoul.

And that actually worked in his favor. Tom Kim explained that since he was more concerned about staying fit the whole week, he never felt the added pressure of the first title defense. “I can remember for the whole week I never worried about trying to make more birdies. I was just thinking about plotting myself around the golf course and taking advantage of the holes you need to take advantage of,” the three-time PGA Tour winner said in the press conference. 

Regardless, Kim fluttered a whopping 27 birdies, three more than he did during his first Shriners victory. Whether Tom Kim is cognizant of it or not, he is again on the cusp of history. The rarity of a three-peat makes this year’s Shriners Children’s Open all the more interesting. And, of course, there is another chance to rub shoulders with Tiger Woods.

Tom Kim stands to do what nobody has done since 2011

No one has won three times in a row since Steve Stricker’s three-peat at the John Deere Classic (2009-11). Since the turn of the century, only three players have carried it off successfully. Stuart Appleby won The Sentry between 2004-06. Whereas Tiger Woods has done it on six different occasions, twice in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. 

Seven of the past nine to do it are Hall of Famers. Tom Kim will become the 19th PGA Tour pro to pull it off. Ahead of it, the South Korean International is exactly where Rory McIlroy was before the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, Viktor Hovland was before the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship, and his good friend Scottie Scheffler was before the 2024 WM Phoenix Open. All came undone.

The temperature at Summerlin will swing between 87 and 73 from Thursday to Sunday. There is a Red Flag Warning as well in parts of Nevada. But the only fire the world expects to see is from Tom Kim on the par-71 7,255-yard TPC Summerlin. The 22-year-old will tie off with Matt McCarty and Kevin Yu at 3:18 PM ET from the first tee.