Tom Kim back in happy place at Shriners Children’s Open

LAS VEGAS – It’s possible to run yourself ragged even at 22. If there’s a lesson Tom Kim can take from this season, that might be it.

Not that he wouldn’t do it all again.

The two-time defending champion at this week’s Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin is making his first (non-Presidents Cup) PGA TOUR start since his wipeout at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, nearly two months ago. There, he finished bogey, double bogey, double bogey to go from projected FedExCup No. 46 to No. 51, missing the BMW Championship as Keegan Bradley got the last spot. Bradley, of course, won the BMW Championship and is exempt into all Signature Events for the 2025 FedExCup Regular Season.

Kim, whose punishing schedule included a run of nine consecutive weeks in May and June, was left to rue a disastrous finish to a bittersweet FedExCup season.

“I just didn't have a choice with the whole new schedule now,” Kim said. “The difference between being 50 and 51st is a big difference. I was I think 96th, higher 90s before I started that nine-week stretch, so I had to (play a lot to try and move up).”

There were high points. Kim finished T4 at the RBC Canadian Open, lost in a playoff to pal Scottie Scheffler at the Travelers Championship, finished T15 at the Genesis Scottish Open, and nearly medaled at the Olympics (solo eighth).

Alas, he did not win; he noted Tuesday that he hasn’t done so since he was here last year, joking that perhaps he might pick up a few tips from playing partners Matt McCarty (won the Black Desert Championship) and Kevin Yu (won the Sanderson Farms Championship) over the first two rounds.

“You know, I had a lot of things on the line this year,” Kim said. “I think that's why maybe some consistent parts of my games were a little bit off. It wasn't just golf. There was a lot of outside stuff that played into it. I think 2024 was a big learning step to my career. I was dealt some tough situations, and I thought I handled it as good as I could have.”

Although he didn’t specify what they were, Kim said he made “nine, 10 changes before I started that nine-week stretch.”

On the bright side, Kim, who went 1-2-1 at last month’s Presidents Cup (and was once again the heartbeat of the International Team), is rested and back in his happy place at TPC Summerlin. In winning the Shriners Children’s Open the last two years running, he has accrued a preposterous 65.5 stroke average. Worst round: 68.

He couldn’t have picked a better spot to hit the reset button.

Why does he play well here? He’s a straight driver, he said. He’s good at thinking his way around.

“I think it's taking advantage,” he said. “… If you plot yourself pretty well the first 12 holes you get to 13, it's a very, very accessible par 5, (which leads to a) really short par 3, drivable par 4 and another par 5 right away.

“So, there is a lot of birdies out there,” he continued. “You just have to pick and choose when you want to attack. Because you could play the most boring round of 6-under here.”

The last player to three-peat on the PGA TOUR was Steve Stricker at the 2009-11 John Deere Classic. Kim allowed that it will be cool to even have the chance to accomplish that feat, a challenge that could be complicated by strong winds.

What he’s not obsessing about is his FedExCup number – Kim is 55th – even though Nos. 51-60 at the conclusion of The RSM Classic next month (the end of the eight-tournament FedExCup Fall) will qualify for two early-2025 Signature Events (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational).

Determined not to get into chase mode again, at least not now, Kim said this will be his only start of the FedExCup Fall.

“I'm actually going to play in Korea next week,” he said. “That's going to be really cool. I haven't been back home, played in front of my hometown crowd since basically before I got to the PGA TOUR. It's been two and a half to three years, and I'm going to play that next week. Then I'll play an event in Hong Kong and finish the year at Tiger's event and at Grant Thornton.”

When he analyzed this season, Kim added, he saw that other than the Travelers Championship he had accrued most of his FedExCup points from non-Signature Events. So why make them the end all, be all? If he plays well wherever and whenever he tees it up, he figures he will be just fine.