By Jason Bruno
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl – Tom Kim, 20, who launched his talents into the mainstream last year with his two PGA Tour wins at the Wyndham Championship in August and Shriners Children’s Open two months later – took the game by storm with his energetic personality and spectacular play at last year’s Presidents Cup. This week at TPC sawgrass, Kim is making his Players debut and he’s seeking to make history. The Korean also known as Kim Joo-hyung, hopes to become the youngest champion in the tournaments history. He will compete against the strongest field in golf, with 44 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking and 29 of the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings in Ponte Vedra this week.
He spoke during the First Timers Media session on Wednesday about watching fellow Korean Si-woo Kim win the 2017 Players Championship to become the youngest winner (at 21 years, 10 months, 16 days of age) of the Tour’s flagship event, and a win this week would eclipse his friends accomplishment. Kim, who will be 20 years, 8 months and 21 days old on Sunday is definitely thinking about what it would mean if he were to win. “I’ve got one shot at it,” said Kim. “Everyone who plays this week has a chance to win and everyone wants to win it really badly. I thought it would be another regular event. It’s actually not. There’s a feel to it. I think it’s the history of this event, the past champions and what the title holds – that’s what makes it special. It’s definitely one of our biggest events of the year.
While discussing Pete Dye’s design, Kim offered up his first impressions, “It’s a lot more narrow than I thought it was, and 17 is actually bigger than you think. So it’s kind of a mix,” said Tom. “This place really tests every part of your game. To have a chance, you definitely have to be playing well against the best players in the world.”
