What should have been Tiger’s victory lap somehow got derailed

LAS VEGAS – Max Homa’s face lit up when he was asked about Tom Kim, the PGA TOUR’s newest young star who captured the world’s hearts with his exuberant performance at the recent Presidents Cup. Homa, who ironically was the man to silence some of Kim’s incredible fervor with a Sunday Singles victory over the 20-year-old that helped the U.S. Team beat Kim’s International Team 17-5-12.5, is one of the biggest fans of the Korean sensation. “Tom is obviously a rock star. I think first and foremost, he’s an amazingly nice person. He’s got that fresh outlook on the game of golf, which is cool. He’s 20 years old, so that’s amazing to even be out here,” Homa said. “It was cool to see him kind of burst on the scene there (at Quail Hollow) because I know he had been playing some really great golf prior, but that was a big stage, and he handled it awesome.” Homa was referencing a couple of huge eagles on Saturday at Quail Hollow that turned things for Kim and his partners in wins against U.S. duos. His long-range putts on the drivable 11th hole saw him throwing his putter and bellowing before the ball even disappeared. Then, as an encore, there was a 10-foot winning birdie putt on the 18th in the afternoon Four-ball match against the dominant pair of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay that Kim himself has had put on repeat on YouTube at times since the tournament. “I’ve watched it a lot of times. I still watch it sometimes because it gives me motivation,” he laughs. “I always have that fire inside me.” Already a winner at last season’s Wyndham Championship, Kim steps out for just his 18th TOUR start this week at the Shriners Children’s Open. Despite no history on the course, he is one of the favorites to win at TPC Summerlin. Former major winner-turned-analyst Paul Azinger has already anointed him a possible future world No. 1 and one of his favorite players. Indeed, Kim is already a drawcard. While picking up a coffee at a local store near TPC Summerlin on Wednesday morning, this reporter was spotted with a TOUR credential and International Team polo which drew questioning from a golf fan in the same line. “Are you here for the Shriners? Do you know Tom Kim? We can’t wait to get out there and see him play this weekend,” the excitable middle-aged man gushed as he walked off with his latte. “My son plays junior golf and he’s been fist pumping and roaring just like him for the past few weeks. Don’t tell his teacher, but I might buy a Friday ticket as well just to make sure he gets to watch him.” Running late somewhere, he was gone before more questions could be asked, but one figures that man and his son are not alone in a quick admiration for Tom Kim. After all, he’s also a built-in advertisement for resilience, having opened the Wyndham Championship with a quadruple-bogey eight yet winning the tournament by five shots. And his energy is infectious. “As competitive as golf is, and that’s why we play it, part of it is entertainment, and I feel like he also has that extra kick of being very entertaining and lovable and somebody you want to see succeed,” Homa added. “To be able to qualify for the Presidents Cup at that age is crazy to me. He played awesome all week. He was the catalyst of the team, I felt like. His emotion was cool.” Kim and Homa have been paired together for the first two rounds this week along with fellow Presidents Cup player Si Woo Kim, Tom’s partner in that fateful Saturday afternoon match in Charlotte. There’s no doubt those three will be looking to entertain with abundant birdies. The question for Tom Kim now is how he will handle his newfound fame. At this tender age, can he maintain the love and joy for the sport that often can become a grind? Will it get to his head? He claims he won’t be getting complacent. He’s aware his new bank balance could induce such behavior, but Kim idolizes Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan for the never-be-satisfied mindset they carried. He intends to do the same. “It’s amazing how people are starting to recognize me, and it’s a great feeling, and I really appreciate it,” Kim said humbly as he looks to start his 2023 campaign. “But I feel like nothing has really changed. Tiger has 82 wins on the PGA TOUR. Until I get to 83, it’s going to be hard for me to think a little different.” It’s a refreshing maturity for one so young, particularly with the hype train in full motion around him right now. “A lot of people have been telling me that hey, you’re such a star now, things like that, but I feel like really, am I that big of a star?” Kim said. “I played the Presidents Cup, it’s great, I had one win. But you’ve got guys like Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth … I’ve still got a lot to do.” As such, he’s knuckling down this week where he feels the course should suit his game perfectly. And he intends to play the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan next week and THE CJ CUP in South Carolina the week after. Will he still have his bubbly smile throughout that intense travel schedule? Likely yes as he knows his energy is almost his secret weapon. “I’ve learned enjoying it is the biggest thing, because there are a lot of times where it gets a little difficult with travel and going to places every week, and sometimes maybe not having the perfect food or something like that,” Kim said. “But I enjoy a lot of things out here, and I love golf, and I love practicing. Putting a focus on enjoying it is probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned.”

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NICHOLASVILLE, Kentucky – The Champions Course at Keene Trace Golf Club is an unknown commodity for nearly all the pros teeing it up at the Barbasol Championship. The first three years of the tournament had been held at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Opelika, Alabama. So players have been scrambling this week to learn the intricacies of this scenic Arthur Hills design. “Obviously new excitement for this tournament,” World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III said. “New golf course and new town and nobody really has an advantage here, so we’re all trying to figure it out.” Billy Horschel, though, feels good vibes at the course nestled among sprawling horse farms that has hosted a U.S. Senior Amateur, SEC Championship and an NCAA tournament, among other events. “Knowing the history of it, that the Florida Gators won the 1993 national championship here is also a little good luck, so …,” Horschel said, grinning as his voice trailed off. Until this week, the PGA TOUR hadn’t played an annual event in the Bluegrass State since 1959 when the third and final Kentucky Derby Open was played in Louisville. (Yes, we know Valhalla in Louisville has hosted three PGAs and a Ryder Cup but those aren’t TOUR-run events or played at the same place every year.) In fact, only one player competing this week at Keene Trace was even alive when that final Kentucky Derby Open trophy was handed out. But Jay Don Blake, born seven months earlier, was still in diapers – and he’s here this week making his 499th start. The field for the Barbasol Championship, which is played opposite The Open Championship at Carnoustie, has topped out at 132 players. The tournament offers 300 all-important FedExCup points to the winner and is one of just seven events remaining to earn a spot in the 125 who make the FedExCup Playoffs. Horschel, who won the FedExCup in 2014, enters the week solidly in the postseason at No. 45 in the standings. But the recent Zurich Classic of New Orleans winner is hoping to build on the work he did last month with swing coach Todd Anderson and set the stage for a big finish to the year. “Obviously the British Open Championship is going on this week, but I wanted to play some golf and I wanted to compete,” he said. “I feel like my game is in a really good spot, and I just wanted to build off some momentum that I’ve had the last few months … and get ready for the last half, stretch of the season with the PGA Championship and the four Playoff events. “So I didn’t want to take three weeks off. I wanted to come play. I’m grateful there was an opposite event to The Open Championship, and Barbasol puts on a great event.” THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Brittany Lincicome: The 32-year-old from Florida is just the sixth woman to play in a PGA TOUR event. The eight-time winner on the LPGA Tour came to Kentucky on the heels of a playoff loss on Sunday. She is known for her length off the tee and is hoping to become the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias at the 1945 Phoenix Open to make the cut. Joel Dahmen: The 30-year-old from Washington enters the Barbasol Championship on a hot streak after ties for fifth and second in his last two starts. All but two of his last 12 rounds have been in the 60s and he is 31 under the last two weeks. William McGirt: The North Carolinian finds himself on the FedExCup bubble at No. 125 so a good finish at Keene Trace could go a long way toward relieving the pressure of the final five weeks. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Willis Young: High pressure will provide us with dry and pleasant weather through Thursday, with comfortable humidity levels. Low pressure will develop over the northern plains and push into the Great Lakes region by early Friday. A warm front will lift northward over the state Thursday night through Friday, resulting in showers and thunderstorms over or near the golf course first thing Friday morning. Very moist and unstable air will allow storms to redevelop during the afternoon/evening hours. An unsettled weather pattern will persist through the weekend.   For the latest weather news from Nicholasville, Kentucky, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I had to play on the boys’ golf team when I was younger, and back then, 14, 15 years ago, there wasn’t as many girls as there is now that played, so for me back in the day it was great because the guys were better, their games were better, and it pushed me to want to be better. So I think playing with the guys, even this week, I’ll learn a few things. I can take things from this week out into my LPGA events. I think it’ll help my game for sure.I played when Annika played. It’s fun for us to see them out. My generation loved playing in the mixed team and competing alongside the LPGA players. … No matter what she does this week, it inspires the younger generation, both men and women, to play golf. So I think it’s great. It’s fun. BY THE NUMBERS 182 – Number of combined PGA TOUR victories among players in the field. 14 – Number of Bank One Classics, on PGA TOUR Champions, played in nearby Lexington, the last in 1997. 6 – Players with Kentucky ties in the field — Josh Teater, Grover Justice, Cooper Musselman, Chip McDaniel and Matt Atkins grew up in the Bluegrass state while Derek Fathauer attended the University of Louisville. 2 – Number of LPGA majors won by Brittany Lincicome. SCATTERSHOT The front and back nines of the par-72 Champions Course have been flipped to create a more exciting finish. So for the second time in three weeks, the final hole is a par 3 – this one a 205-yarder, while the 17th is a par 5 and No. 16 a par 4. Horschel thinks the back nine will be a little more generous since the greens are less undulating. “The greens are in absolutely incredible shape,â€� he said. “Course is in pretty good shape with all the rain they’ve had. I think the scores will be really low. I think it’s going to allow some guys to be aggressive into the greens. I think you’ll have to go low, so 18-, 20-, 22-under par is I think the winning score.â€� Josh Teater grew up in nearby Lexington and remembers attending the Bank One Classic on PGA TOUR Champions when he was a kid. “My interest in golf had already been sparked,â€� Teater said in an article on the Barbasol Championship website. “But that probably took it to another level.â€� Teater, who is playing the Web.com Tour this year in hopes of regaining his TOUR card, was given a sponsor’s exemption for this week’s event. He’s one of the few pros who has played the Champions Course in competition – shooting 7 under to finish third at the 2004 Kentucky Open, three strokes off the pace set by J.B. Holmes.

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At the conclusion of the TOUR Championship, the final event of the FedExCup Playoffs, bonus money will be distributed as follows: Top 30 FedExCup bonus money distribution Other FedExCup bonus money distribution

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