Tom Kim Shakes Off Repeated Meltdowns to Warn Off PGA Tour Rivals: ‘Fires Me Up’

The 2024 season has not been the greatest year for Tom Kim. To begin with, there was the Presidents Cup controversy. Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley were playing against Sungjae Im and Tom Kim. Due to a heated competitive round, Tom Kim and Sungjae Im stepped off the 8th hole and walked 60 yards to the 9th tee box, before Scottie Scheffler finished putting out. Well, that was not all for the drama. He came under negative limelight quite a few times.

Tom Kim suffered a heartbreaking loss at the Genesis Championship on Sunday. After narrowly missing a putt, he and Kyoung-Hoon Lee went into a playoff, but Kim couldn’t match Lee’s birdie, handing him the victory. Despite a strong performance over 18 holes, Kim was denied the win. His frustration boiled over after the round, and it was reported that he broke a locker door at the venue.

Taking to this, he even posted a statement on Instagram, “After the loss, I was frustrated, yes absolutely, but I can assure you with absolute truth that I had no intent of damaging any part of the locker, not a single bit. I addressed it with the DP World Tour and the KPGA right after the incident saying that the door came off.” But now it seems things might be changing as the season is about to close.

The 3X PGA Tour Champion is currently teeing off at the Hero World Challenge and sits at T3 after the Saturday round. He is only two strokes away from Justin Thomas, who at the moment is leading. In the penultimate round, Kim started the round impressively. He carded four back-to-back birdies, and in another 14 holes, he shot eight more. Had it not been for the double bogey on the seventeenth hole, he would have been tied for the lead with the World No. 1. After not being able to qualify for the Tour Championship by just one rank, this came as a ray of hope for him.

When asked what it meant for him at the post-round presser, Kim said, “Yeah, it’s cool. I had a lot of different things come to me this year. It’s been a long, tough season, but as soon as the season finished, I was kind of ready, took a little break, and was right back to work. I’ve been traveling a lot and playing a lot of golf as well. I think using that as motivation to go out next year and to even have a better year next year. The way it finished fires me up to go after next year.” 

After the FedEx St. Jude Championship, he competed on the Tour in the Shriners Children Open after almost 2 months. He utilized this time to recharge, and it is showing in the Bahamas. The Saturday round gave him the confidence to take on the challenges that his fellow golfers would offer in the coming season. Even after the exceptional round, Kim was slightly disappointed with what happened on the seventeenth hole.

Tom Kim believes that his double bogey was a target mistake

The shot on the seventeenth hole was a terrible mistake, according to Tom Kim. In the first shot, the ball landed 179 yards to the left of the bunker, which was followed by a 19 ft 1 in shot to the left bunker. In the third shot too, he could not figure it out and ended up 27 ft 5 inches to the left of the green. When the ball was just 5 ft 3 inches away from the hole, he used his putter and dragged it away to 5 ft 11 inches away from the hole. It was in the fifth shot that he could finally putt his ball into the hole. This left him a lot frustrated.

“Yeah, it was just a little weird. My left foot was off the ground; it was on an upslope, there was a lot of sand, and I got the wind on the left side. It was a big learning point for me because I wasn’t trying to hit it close; I was trying to hit it on the green 10 feet past the hole, and I just—it was a target mistake,” said Kim.

However, the 467-yard birdie after the double bogey came as a treat to him, and he did walk out cheerful after the round. He still has a lot of work to do, since ahead of him were Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas, some of the greatest players. But for him, he is not taking it as a final day trying to win. Rather, he is focused on trying to make the best score he can.

“You just go out there and play, and winning just happens; you can’t force anything. You’ve just got to play your own game; things have got to go your way. These guys, they’re the best in the world, so you have to play well. I know a good, solid round of golf is going to reward me tomorrow,” he added.

Do you think Tom Kim will be able to beat both of them and grab the $1 million prize money on Sunday? Stay tuned to find out!