Advertisement

sportsGolf

5 things to know about Tom Kim, another Dallas-area resident making his mark on PGA Tour

Kim recently shared a birthday and kept up with close friend Scottie Scheffler at the Travelers Championship.

Over the years, golf fans have familiarized themselves with Dallas’ “Big 3″ in the sport. That group consists of Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris.

Those watching this weekend’s Travelers Championship saw another golfer with Dallas-area ties make a statement. Maintaining a steady performance at TPC River Highlands, Tom Kim battled closely with Scheffler in a race for first place.

Here are five things you might not know about Kim:

1. The basics

Sports Roundup

Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis, scores and more.

Or with:

Full name: Joohyung Kim

Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea

Advertisement

Birthday: June 21, 2002 (22 years old)

Residence: Dallas

Career wins: 3

Advertisement

2. His name

As you can see above, Kim’s “real” first name isn’t Tom. So, why does he roll with the shorter nickname? He credits a children’s cartoon for inspiration.

After winning the Wyndham Championship in 2022, Kim explained the reasoning behind his name choice to reporters. The cartoon behind the shorter name was Thomas the Tank Engine.

“It’s just a stubborn me, like you’re supposed to let your parents name yourself and I was like, ‘Nope, I’m gonna name myself Thomas,’” Kim said. “I loved the show as a kid. I haven’t watched it or anything, but apparently I really loved the train and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna name myself Thomas.’”

Kim added that there were a few other names he considered going by when he was younger. As a “Toy Story” fan, Kim was particularly fond of Buzz Lightyear’s name.

He said that as the years went by, people started calling him Tom over Thomas.

Advertisement

3. When did Kim move to Dallas?

In the summer of 2022, the South Korean golfer chose North Texas as his U.S. base. Needing a place to train, Kim started practicing at Trinity Forest Golf Club with Cameron McCormick.

McCormick is Spieth’s longtime swing coach. Since moving to Dallas, Kim has developed close friendships with each member of the aforementioned Big 3.

He once spent Christmas with Spieth, got a letter of recommendation from Zalatoris to join him at Dallas National Golf Club and has earned rooting interest from members of the Scheffler family.

Advertisement

4. Shares a birthday with Scheffler

This is just another connection Kim shares with one of the area’s top golfers.

As Kim revealed earlier in the week, he and Scheffler already have a traditional way of celebrating June 21. The duo will spend part of the day together eating pizza.

Advertisement

“We had some pizza earlier in the week. I had a lot of pizza, so I kind of told myself, ‘Normally I wouldn’t do that in a tournament, but it’s my birthday,’” Kim said. “It’s kind of a tradition. Me and Scottie have the same birthday, so we had an early birthday celebration.”

5. Career achievements

Still in the early part of his professional career, Kim has already secured a few key victories on the PGA Tour. After winning the Wyndham Championship during the 2022 campaign, he won the Shriners Children’s Open twice.

Advertisement

He joined Byron Nelson as the only players to have won the same PGA Tour event twice in the same season. Kim also represented the International Team during the Presidents Cup in 2022.

Related Stories
View More

Find more golf coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.