Tom Kim said he hasn’t been “brave enough” to sample Scotland’s famed black pudding and haggis, but other than the local cuisine, the up-and-coming golf star has plenty to like about the country.
Kim is back in North Berwick, Scotland this week for the Genesis Scottish Open one year after a breakthrough third-place finish as a mere 20-year-old.
The South Korea native went on a heater after that third-place finish.
“This is really where it all started and it’s really nice to be back. I love Scotland,” Kim said Wednesday. “Obviously have great memories last year and I’m super happy to be back.”
At the time, he was mostly playing the Korn Ferry Tour and trying to make that tour’s finals in a quest to gain his PGA Tour card. But after following up the Scottish Open with a made cut in his first Open Championship, he had enough “non-member” FedEx Cup points for a PGA Tour special temporary membership.
Just a few weeks later, he won the regular-season finale, the Wyndham Championship. Then he made the International team roster for the Presidents Cup. Then the 2022-23 season began, and in his first start, the Shriners Children’s Open, he won again.
Not even Kim knew he had all that in him. He said he wasn’t thinking very highly of himself this time last year.
“For me, my main focus (last year) was trying to get enough points to I could try to get to the Korn Ferry finals,” Kim said. “I wasn’t expecting a top-three finish, I’m not going to lie to you. I had limited events and I was trying to make the most out of it. For me at that time, that top three finish was an unreal feeling.”
Kim revealed Tuesday that his parents were with him in Scotland for last year’s standout performance.
“They were here so they got to experience it,” he said. “Yeah, I stayed in Edinburgh last year, the city, a little far from the course, but got to see all the history around the place and obviously the air quality is the best in the world. The fresh air, I could live here. It’s absolutely amazing.”
Now No. 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking (though he’s been as high as No. 13), Kim won’t fly under the radar again this year. If anything, the questions soon will turn to major championship performance.
Kim is +4000 to win the Scottish Open at BetMGM as of Wednesday afternoon, and +4000 as well for next week’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
What Kim lacks in links golf experience — he said last year’s Scottish was his first time playing that style of course — he makes up for with sterling driver and iron play. He ranks seventh on the PGA Tour this season in driving accuracy, 10th in strokes gained: approach and sixth in greens in regulation percentage.
Kim was grateful for the experience of playing in front of passionate fans in the country widely called the “home of golf.”
“This is where we have the one of the best golf fans through the year,” he said. “All of us players love to come back here and play golf. I still like flying under the radar and I find it very fortunate when people do recognize me. I’m happy to be back and hopefully I can put on a good show for all of the fans.”
–Field Level Media