Is Tom Kim about to become golf’s next sensation?

The PGA Tour is extremely competitive, as veteran and young golfers vie for lucrative purses throughout the year. One of the upstarts who could soon be recognized as one of the game’s greats is Tom Kim. The South Korean born player has turned heads during his short time on tour.

In order to be golf’s next big thing, Kim will have to prove that he can win a few major tournaments. But he’s already built a following as a quirky individual that has made him likeable by fans and other golfers.

According to Golf’s website, Kim was remembered for falling into a creek during the 2023 PGA championship. While many players would have been embarrassed, Kim embraced the moment. He playfully responded to comments from other professional athletes about the event, saying that he hopes he made them proud with the splash.

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According to GQ’s website, Tom Kim wore a Phoenix Suns Devin Booker NBA jersey during the Waste Management Open, held in Arizona. “I don’t put a mask on and I think that comes across in the way I play. I have no problem showing everybody exactly who I am,” Kim told GQ.

Kim was asked what he would do in October 2023 if he were to win the Shriners Children’s Open event, and his answer was, well, child-like. He told Sports Illustrated, “I’m going to finish a piece of chocolate that I wanted to finish, and then I’m going to order room service, and then I’m going to bed.”

While fans can go on forever about Kim’s funny habits and mannerisms, he’s also shown that he’s a pretty talented golfer. According to CNN, Tom Kim became the youngest golfer to win three PGA Tour titles since Tiger Woods, when he captured the Shriners Open in October 2023. He won the tournament the prior year as well, in addition to the 2022 Wyndham Championship.

It should be noted that Kim won those three tournaments at age 21 or younger, which helps illustrate the bright future he has in the sport.

CBS Sports took a closer look at Kim’s game after his 2023 Shriners Open victory, and identified an aspect of his game that allows him to compete at the highest level. They posited that he is an elite iron player, as his strokes gained per round metrics only trail some of the best players in the sport.

For such a young player, and a young person in general, Kim doesn’t go down the same rabbit holes as his contemporaries. In the GQ piece, it was said that Kim doesn’t use social media like TikTok, and is barely on Instagram. He also doesn’t watch a lot of streaming shows on Netflix. He’s all-in on becoming the best golfer he can be.

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Kim told GQ, “Sometimes I feel like I’ve achieved something great and I want to enjoy it a little more, but I don’t because of how my brain is wired.”

Joohyung Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea in 2002. According to The Athletic, his father Changik was a semi-professional golfer who introduced the game to his son.

As a child, Kim was a big fan of Thomas The Tank Engine, so much so that he adopted the name for himself, according to The Athletic.

Kim’s family moved twice during his formidable years. They immigrated from South Korea to Australia when he was five years old, and then once more to the Philippines when he was 13. Throughout this time, Kim had shown he was a child prodigy in golf.

Kim got to hang out with international golf stars at the 2022 Presidents Cup. International captain Trevor Immelman summed it up for USA Today, “For a guy like Tom Kim to be able to be hanging out with Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama in the team room last night, I mean, I wish you could have seen the kid’s face.”

Kim has established a great friendship with Jordan Spieth, so much so that the latter trusts the South Korean emerging star with his children. Kim told Sports Illustrated, “I got to spend some time with the Spieths and kind of babysit Sammy (their son), which was really cool.”

Kim isn’t going to let complacency get in the way of what he wants to achieve in golf. He told GQ, “I know that there are people out there that root against me and want what I have. But I can create those people, too. I have a good imagination.”

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