17-05-2025
Si Woo Kim's Unexpected Behavior at PGA Championship is Turning Heads
In the second men's major of the year, the 107th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, has presented golfers with one of the sternest tests on the 2025 calendar.
The par-71 layout stretches 7,626 yards, with its closing holes dubbed the 'Green Mile' for the trio of long, hazard-lined finishing holes that have already humbled many competitors this week.
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On Thursday, Jhonattan Vegas set the early standard with a 7-under-par 64 to take a two-stroke lead after the opening round.
By contrast, 29-year-old Si Woo Kim found the opening 12 holes in Charlotte somewhat taxing.
Sitting at 1-over-par through that stretch, Kim briefly halted play on Thursday afternoon with an unconventional form of stress relief: he was caught on camera taking a drag of a cigarette while walking onto the next tee box.
Kim said that the reason why he was smoking on course was because he was "Getting old and stressed", per Fore Play on X.
The clip went viral across social feeds, prompting instant reactions from fans.
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One fan commented, "Of course," and another commenter said, "drained one on 6!"
One user said, "This is actually insane lmao," to which another responded, "Nah John Daly was legend 😂".
Similarly, another user commented, "Is that allowed?" and one other fan fired back, "Do you know who John Daly is?".
Si Woo Kim at the Travelers Championship golf tournament. Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Kim bypassed university golf at Yonsei University to join the professional ranks in 2012, becoming the youngest player to graduate from the PGA Tour's qualifying school.
He broke through on the Tour with the 2015 Stonebrae Classic before going on to secure the 2016 Wyndham Championship and the 2017 Players Championship, becoming the youngest ever winner at age 21.
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Kim's best major finish came at the Masters (T12 in 2021), with solid showings including T13 at the PGA Championship in 2020 and T15 at The Open in 2022.
As the weekend unfolds at Quail Hollow, Kim now sits just a handful of strokes off the lead.
Related: CBS Makes Major Announcement After Rory McIlroy's Historic Win At The Masters
