Tom Kim’s divot incident and apology give new context to the nightmare ending
Tom Kim finished one place outside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup.
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After eliminating his season with a double bogey 6 on the 18th hole, Tom Kim turned around and stared back at the lake that had sealed his fate.
“Just this year, man,” he said later when asked what was going through his mind. “This year has been really hard for me personally.”
Tom Kim expects more.
That was the big lesson from the 22-year-old’s 2024 PGA Tour season, which came to a nightmarish end on Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Standing on the 16th tee at TPC Southwind, he was projected to finish the week 46th on the points list, safely in the top 50 he would need to advance to the BMW Championship and secure spots in virtually every major tournament next season. When he reached the 16th fairway, he had just 200 yards to the green on a par 5 and was probably thinking about moving up high the leaderboard.
Instead, he went the other way. He was sloppy – two bunker shots and a missed five-foot putt – and ended up on his way to bogey 6. The next hole was another disaster: missed green, two chips, two putts. After Kim pulled his tee shot into the water on 18, he finished with a third straight 6. That left him tied for 51st place, the underdog, less than 17 points behind 50th-place Keegan Bradley.
“I was actually on the right track,” he said wistfully, thinking back to his first 15 holes, which he played at four under par.
Kim had a particular regret. He missed his first bunker shot in the bunker on hole 16. He missed his 5-foot ball for par. He missed the wrong side on hole 17. There are certain holes on the PGA Tour where you have be on the right side; small misses can lead to big numbers.
The bogey on hole 16 finally started with a flared 5-iron that put him in a difficult position in the bunker. The double on hole 17 started with a flared 5-iron into jail. “Another really bad miss, anywhere to the left is fine and right is wrong,” Kim lamented afterward.
But while Kim was regretting his tee shot, another moment drew the ire of golf fans on social media. On the 12th hole, before things went awry, Kim had missed a short birdie putt. As he moved to hole his par, he slammed his putter on the green, apparently venting his frustration at something that had wronged him. The broadcast showed that Kim’s putter slam left a gouge in the green, a sight that would make any golfer cringe.
Every player is expected to touch up such a stain before leaving the green. Getting frustrated and doing something stupid is an essential part of golf, but it’s also important to do your best to leave the course the way you found it. But Kim didn’t appear to touch up the stain. He later explained that he didn’t realize what he had done.
A day later, on Monday evening, Kim posted a message on his Instagram stories expressing his regret and explaining that he had not known about the mark.
“Hi everyone. It has been brought to my attention my frustration shown on the 12th green yesterday,” he wrote. “I will never lie to my colleagues and fans because I have too much respect and gratitude towards them. I was not aware that I had caused such a great deal of damage on the green because if that had been the case I would never have just walked away without fixing it, but I was clearly wrong and will take full responsibility for my actions and be better in the future. Thank you and I apologize again and thank you for your support during a difficult year.”
The apology was a reminder that Kim expects more from herself as a person. The real-time frustration was a reminder that Kim expects more from herself as a golfer. There it was again – the reference to the “rough year.” It was telling that after the round, Kim seemed frustrated in a way that lasted beyond the tournament.
“This season has been easy – it’s just been that way,” he said. “I played really good golf and then had some difficult finishes. I feel like 2024 has really kicked my butt.”
Kim was not without optimism. His summer was peppered with promising moments: T4 at the RBC Canadian Open, second at the Travelers, T15 at the Genesis Scottish Open, eighth at the Olympics. He came so close to achieving his goal that it would break his heart.
“I’ve gotten so much better,” he said. “I fought really hard to get to this situation. I was over 90 before we made this run and it looks like I’m going to miss by a point. But it is what it is.”
It wasn’t the year he had dreamed of. Kim had ended 2023 on a high note, winning the Shriners Children’s Open for the second year in a row and, at just 21, becoming the youngest player since Tiger Woods to win three times on tour. Such a comparison raises expectations. You raise expectations when you’re the star of an episode of the Netflix series. Full swingtoo. Externally and internally. Golf fans expect a lot from Kim – but he expects even more from himself. It’s exhausting to try to live up to those expectations. That’s why Kim didn’t just sound frustrated at the end. He sounded relieved that it was over.
“It’s been a long road. I think I just haven’t been mentally fit enough in the last few weeks,” he said. “I played nine weeks straight. In the eighth week I played in a finals and was leading every day (against the Travelers), then I went into a playoff and then I played in the Olympics. I’ve been through a lot.”
“51, 52, 50, it doesn’t matter. I’m just looking forward to resting and getting ready for next year.”
There’s reason for optimism, and not just because Kim can take a few weeks off. The Presidents Cup is just around the corner – the tournament where Kim announced his arrival two years ago. But even better is the fact that Kim is ranked No. 18 in the world. No matter how much time off he takes this fall, he’ll most likely be in all four majors. And even if he drops a few spots, the top 30 on the OWGR will be heading into the PGA Tour’s signature events. There’s more Tom Kim coming your way.
The good news? This time he still left room for improvement.
