Tom Kim turns Travelers playoff loss to good friend Scottie Scheffler into learning opportunity

Tom Kim made only two bogeys this week, both via three-putts. He was undone by a fried-egg lie in a playoff. Nobody beat him through 72 holes.

It was nearly enough to take down a good friend who happens to be the world No. 1.

Kim threw his best shot at Scottie Scheffler at this week’s Travelers Championship, but he settled for a runner-up showing in a playoff at TPC River Highlands.

“I’m going to definitely look at this week as a positive,” Kim said afterward.

Theatrics were plentiful on a wild Sunday where five players shared the lead at one point and Scheffler looked to take control before Kim drained a 10-foot birdie on the 72nd hole to force a playoff at 22-under 258.

But Scheffler’s conventional par on the first extra hole, also the par-4 18th, was enough for the win: fairway, green, two-putt par. On the playoff hole, Kim looked to have the advantage off the tee – he had 110 yards to the hole, compared to 152 yards for Scheffler – but Kim pushed a wedge into a greenside bunker and drew a nasty, buried lie. He did well to hold the green on his third, but he couldn’t convert a 36-footer for par, which turned Scheffler’s 11-foot birdie effort into a stress-free proposition.

It wasn’t the ideal outcome for Kim, who led after each of the first, second and third rounds in Connecticut. But there’s plenty of good to take away.

“Against the best players in the world, I fought really hard,” said Kim, who moves from No. 61 to No. 39 on the FedExCup standings, a massive leap toward qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs (top 70 after the Wyndham Championship in August).

“I had so much fun out there, felt like a practice round with (Scheffler) … It's just nice to know that the hard work kind of really does come to life. Like, yes, it would have been super sweet if I won, but it still doesn't change who I am.”

Scheffler stayed close the entire way, and the far-and-away FedExCup leader drew ahead with three straight birdies on Nos. 13-15, separating from a logjam that at one point included Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau and Akshay Bhatia, all five at 19 under. For his part, Kim hung tough with birdies at Nos. 13 and 15, but the difference perhaps came at the short par-4 14th when he failed to match Scheffler’s birdie – Kim played an 84-yard wedge to 17 feet and settled for a two-putt par.

But Kim, already a three-time TOUR winner at age 22, didn’t back down. After a lively discussion with caddie Paul Tesori in the 18th fairway – which ended with Kim taking one less club to account for adrenaline, per Tesori’s encouragement – he came within inches of holing a 131-yard approach on the bounce. He drained the 10-footer to force overtime, punctuated with a dramatic fist pump that reminded of his breakout showing at the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow.

It was one short, but Kim remained upbeat in his post-round interview, his energy flowing after his eighth straight tournament week. He’s not slowing down either; he plans to head to Detroit for next week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, his ninth in a row.

Scheffler and Kim both share a birthday, June 21, which fell during Friday’s second round at TPC River Highlands. Scheffler turned 28; Kim turned 22. They celebrated with good play in Connecticut; Scheffler carded rounds of 65-64-64-65, while Kim posted 62-65-65-66.

Scheffler earned one extra layer of celebration, but Kim’s turn could be soon – the world No. 1 is taking next week off, after all.

“I feel like this year has been a lot of learning,” Kim said. “I’ve had a lot of learning lessons of trying to not label things. I am who I am, 10 wins on the PGA TOUR, zero wins on the PGA TOUR, it's not going to change me.

“I think it took a lot of experiences for me to actually learn that … when I work hard, not expect anything, just kind of let things happen. I think that's what happened this week. I was really close to wire-to-wire finish; that would have been awesome, but it just wasn't meant to be and I'll have my chances.”