You have to love Tom Kim, who always wears his heart on his sleeve.
Whether it be his emotional finish at the Olympics, eating chocolate in celebration after his win in Las Vegas, or his love for New Haven pizza, Kim has a unique charm that makes him quite likable. His viral mudbath at the 2023 PGA Championship and subsequent response to that episode also come to mind. Sure, he had an outburst in South Korea in October, but nobody is perfect. He had suffered a heartbreaking finish, but his emotions got the best of him. He seems to have learned from that and moved on.
Fast-forward to this week, when Kim played alongside his good friend Jeeno Thitikul at the Grant Thornton Invitational. Both players played well but ultimately fell one shot short of Jake Knapp and Patty Tavatanakit. Yet fans should remember Kim’s comments afterward and not the shots that he did—or did not—execute during play.
“Would this [tournament] have inspired you as a kid to watch men and women play together?” A reporter asked him.
Kim then delivered an incredible response.
“I think it’s really big because when you see—like I’m from Asia when you see Asian players on a global stage when I was a kid, seeing as my fellow countrymen play on the PGA Tour inspired me a lot, and it encouraged me to really attack my dreams,” Kim explained.
“Especially with this format, it’s so special where it’s not just guys; it’s different genders of men and girls coming together and playing together. I think it’s going to be really cool. I lived in Thailand for a few years before I came to the U.S. [Thitikul’s] stardom is so big there, so people over there will see us and want to come to this stage and play with maybe their fellow countrymen. I think it’s a big stepping stone for people in Asia.”
Kim also emphasized how he only wants to play with Thitikul going forward.
“I don’t think I’d like to play with anyone else but her. It’s just growing up in Asia, I think really from people who we played with, she and I were the only ones who really took the courage to come to the U.S. and play on the big tours,” Kim said.
“I think she’s really inspiring people from her country to come over here and to play on the LPGA. And I feel like, in my country, not many people are trying to take on the big role of going to the PGA Tour. Like I said, it’s so cool, and I’d like to win this one with her, hopefully in the future, but I definitely won’t play with anyone except for her.”
Despite being only 22 years old, Kim has impressive wisdom and experience. He just wrapped up his third full year on the PGA Tour, but these comments would make you think he has played since the mid-200s. Maybe that’s part of his allure, too.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
