Tom Kim and Dallas contingent seek spark from 'home game' at CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Tom Kim and Dallas contingent seek spark from 'home game' at CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Tom Kim is hoping his home game can ignite a sluggish start to his season.
The 22-year-old South Korean lives just 35 minutes from TPC Craig Ranch in Dallas and expects one of the larger followings at a PGA Tour stop that includes local flavor from Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
As a group, the Dallas residents are entering their home game at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson without a victory this season among them. Scheffler has been the best of the bunch, finishing second in Houston and fourth at the Masters and hasn't been outside the top 25 this year. Despite being winless this season, he's still fourth in the FedEx Cup in his big to win the Tour's Player of the Year award for a fourth straight season.
Spieth, who made his PGA Tour debut in this event as a 16-year-old in 2010 when it was played at TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas, returned from wrist surgery in early February. He currently sits 50th in the FedEx Cup standings but is winless in more than three years and has work to do if he's going to make the Ryder Cup team this fall.
Zalatoris still seems to be figuring out his swing after back surgery about 18 months ago but it is his putter that has been holding him back. He's wallowing in 88th place in the FedEx Cup standings and has failed to record a top-10 finish.
But Kim hasn't been much better, with just one top 10, a T-7 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, that has him sitting in 76th position in the season-long standings. It's time for these Texans to get to work.
Kim has won three times on the PGA Tour at the tender age of 22 but failed to lift a trophy for the first time last year. All that early success has boosted expectations for Kim, but no one expects more out of him than Kim himself.
'There's been moments of uncertainty of where did the game go?' Kim said. 'The belief is very high with my game, knowing that if I just get anywhere near on a run, I feel I can hit it as close as anybody. I felt I proved that in very high-pressure conditions. It just hasn't been where it needs to be. My golf swing is just not feeling so comfortable as it did the last fall.'
That's when Kim played solidly during the Presidents Cup in Montreal for the International Team and had a string of runner-up results, losing a playoff to Ben An at the Genesis Championship in Korea, second at the Hero World Challenge in December and T-2 the following week at the Grant Thornton Invitational.
Kim blamed his poor play on his weight loss. He shed some pounds thanks to a better fitness routine and commitment to a cleaner diet.
'My body is not used to it,' he said. 'I know it's going to take time. But once I know I find it with where I am now, it's going to be really good.'
This week's home game offers the perfect opportunity to show the right stuff.
'I have good memories here. I haven't really played the best that I could have the last few years,' he said. 'But this was my first appearance before my really big run in '22, and I think every time I come back I kind of just reflect to those moments of before I was a PGA Tour member. The emotion, the excitement I felt coming in here and playing here. And it's just trying to relive those memories and just try to bring that fire back like I did in '22.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Journals
40 minutes ago
- Business Journals
Southern Company celebrates another year of positive impact with the TOUR Championship
expand Southern Company The TOUR Championship announced a record $7.2 million contribution from the 2024 golf event, up from $6.96 million in 2023. The TOUR Championship has now raised more than $63 million for local nonprofits since the event was first staged at East Lake Golf Club in 1998. With the support of its proud partners Southern Company, Accenture and Coca-Cola, the event has contributed to five key community organizations: East Lake Foundation, First Tee – Metro Atlanta, Focused Community Strategies, Grove Park Foundation and Purpose Built Schools Atlanta among others. "We're incredibly proud to announce a record $7.2 million in community impact funds this year. This achievement reflects the unwavering support we receive from our partners, fans and the Atlanta community. It's because of that support that we're able to continue investing in initiatives that make a real difference in the lives of those who call Atlanta home,' stated Alex Urban, executive director of the TOUR Championship. Southern Company and the TOUR Championship are proud to support local initiatives and the success of these efforts would not be possible without the incredible support from fans, partners and the community. By attending the tournament and getting involved, fans help fuel these important programs, creating lasting opportunities for Metro Atlanta's communities. Southern Company has a longstanding and deep-rooted relationship with the PGA TOUR. Since 1999, Southern Company has been the official energy company of the PGA TOUR and is now in its ninth year as a proud partner of the TOUR Championship. The company is also the presenting sponsor of the Payne Stewart Award and serves as the Education Patron of First Tee, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching life skills through golf, impacting more than 700,000 students annually in 1,400 schools. Help support local organizations by joining Southern Company on the course at this year's TOUR Championship.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
USGA says it's not necessary to test everyone's driver at events
OAKMONT, Pa. – Driver testing for characteristic time, or CT, became a headline at last month's PGA Championship when Rory McIlroy's driver was deemed nonconforming just days before the year's second major, and it was later learned that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler's driver also failed the test, which essentially measures the 'springiness' of the driver face. Whether driver testing becomes a talking point again this week remains to be seen, but the USGA is forging ahead with testing at the U.S. Open. Advertisement According to John Bodenhamer, the USGA's chief championships officer, about a third of the field, a little more than 50 players, were tested this week at Oakmont. The USGA does not publish the results of the testing. 'There's nothing to suggest there are a ton of drivers that are over the limit,' said Thomas Pagel, the association's chief governance officer. 'It's less than a handful.' Following his victory at the PGA Championship, Scheffler said he'd like to see more 'robust' testing and that the current process only goes 'halfway.' Since the PGA Championship, many players have called for an all-or-nothing approach to driver testing and protocols that would either test the entire field at a particular event or no one. Advertisement 'We test them throughout the year and don't think it's necessary [to test every driver each week],' said Bodenhamer. 'It would be difficult, from a time perspective, to test every driver and we don't want to be too intrusive.' Currently, a player's driver is tested about three times a year at various events on the PGA Tour or at major championships, and logistically it would be a challenge to test the entire field at this week's U.S. Open with 156 players and each test lasting about 15 to 20 minutes. Instead, the USGA, along with the game's other stakeholders, contends more comprehensive testing isn't necessary based on the number of drivers that fail the CT testing. Close up on golf ball Plan B? No, the USGA is moving forward with ball roll back Advertisement USGA CEO Mike Whan stated clearly that the USGA, along with the R&A, plans to move forward with the ball roll back. 'We think the testing that we're doing is commensurate with both the degree of failure that we see, which is pretty minimal, and quite frankly, when we see failure, at least currently, we're seeing clubs just literally creep over the line,' said USGA CEO Mike Whan. 'It's a line we draw — we aren't seeing when we're taking drivers off, drivers that are, oh, my gosh, look where that one went [over the limit].' Some players also questioned the testing protocols, pointing out that there is no testing for CT, or creep, at LIV Golf events. The USGA, which administers CT testing at Tour events and the PGA Championship, does not test drivers at LIV events but Pagel said 'any tour, men or women, who reaches out for support, we would support.'
NBC Sports
3 hours ago
- NBC Sports
USGA says it's not necessary to test everyone's driver at events
Ahead of the U.S. Open, Fred Perpall, Mike Whan and John Bodenhamer of the USGA address weather concerns, the "dense" rough at Oakmont, why drivers fail testing, the USGA's next media rights deal and more. OAKMONT, Pa. – Driver testing for characteristic time, or CT, became a headline at last month's PGA Championship when Rory McIlroy's driver was deemed nonconforming just days before the year's second major, and it was later learned that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler's driver also failed the test, which essentially measures the 'springiness' of the driver face. Whether driver testing becomes a talking point again this week remains to be seen, but the USGA is forging ahead with testing at the U.S. Open. According to John Bodenhamer, the USGA's chief championships officer, about a third of the field, a little more than 50 players, were tested this week at Oakmont. The USGA does not publish the results of the testing. 'There's nothing to suggest there are a ton of drivers that are over the limit,' said Thomas Pagel, the association's chief governance officer. 'It's less than a handful.' Following his victory at the PGA Championship, Scheffler said he'd like to see more 'robust' testing and that the current process only goes 'halfway.' Since the PGA Championship, many players have called for an all-or-nothing approach to driver testing and protocols that would either test the entire field at a particular event or no one. 'We test them throughout the year and don't think it's necessary [to test every driver each week],' said Bodenhamer. 'It would be difficult, from a time perspective, to test every driver and we don't want to be too intrusive.' Currently, a player's driver is tested about three times a year at various events on the PGA Tour or at major championships, and logistically it would be a challenge to test the entire field at this week's U.S. Open with 156 players and each test lasting about 15 to 20 minutes. Instead, the USGA, along with the game's other stakeholders, contends more comprehensive testing isn't necessary based on the number of drivers that fail the CT testing. Rex Hoggard, 'We think the testing that we're doing is commensurate with both the degree of failure that we see, which is pretty minimal, and quite frankly, when we see failure, at least currently, we're seeing clubs just literally creep over the line,' said USGA CEO Mike Whan. 'It's a line we draw — we aren't seeing when we're taking drivers off, drivers that are, oh, my gosh, look where that one went [over the limit].' Some players also questioned the testing protocols, pointing out that there is no testing for CT, or creep, at LIV Golf events. The USGA, which administers CT testing at Tour events and the PGA Championship, does not test drivers at LIV events but Pagel said 'any tour, men or women, who reaches out for support, we would support.'
