Just Stinks: Tom Kim Gets Honest About Late Suspension During 6-Under Round
Jun 27, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Tom Kim walks on the eighth green during the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Jun 27, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Tom Kim walks on the eighth green during the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Tom Kim started his week at the Charles Schwab Challenge on a great note with a brilliant performance of 6-under 64. However, there was a significant interruption to his fantastic game.
As fate would have it, the promising player was subjected to an unscheduled delay during the last hole due to extremely harsh weather conditions that called for an immediate horn blow to pause play.
"Whether you're playing great or not, just the horn blowing on the last hole just stinks." Kim candidly admitted to the late suspension. The unexpected stoppage completely broke his incredible momentum.
May 28, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Tom Kim watches his shot from the sixth tee during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
May 28, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Tom Kim watches his shot from the sixth tee during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
After the weather delay cleared, Kim returned to the course and two-putted from 52 feet on the par-4 9th hole to save par. This clutch finish finalized his opening round and locked in his score.
His card showed how he played brilliantly on the opening day because there were eight birdies against two bogeys, one at the par-4 5th hole and another at the 7th hole as well.
"I felt like I did a really good job of just kind of putting myself in positions," Kim explained. The impressive performance of the golfer saw him tied for the first-round lead with Lee Hodges, J.J. Spaun, Ryan Gerard, Andrew Putnam, and Matt McCarty.
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Such an opening-round outburst was highly relieving for Kim, who has endured a very quiet season on the PGA Tour until now. Going into this week, the young 23-year-old has managed just one top-10 result in 12 tournaments.
It has also been quite a long time since his last PGA Tour victory, which came at the 2023 Shriners Children's Open. With that record-breaking win, he became the youngest three-time winner on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods accomplished this feat in 1997.
"Yeah, I haven't really had a top-10 finish in a while, and just the work I've been putting in," Kim shared. His T6 performance in Myrtle Beach did wonders for his dwindling confidence due to poor early-season performances.
The one breakthrough he got at Myrtle Beach justified all the changes he made through those months. The South Korean star desperately sought consistency after missing cuts at the Valero Texas Open and Zurich Classic, alongside six finishes outside the top 35.
He has been making fine changes in his game with the help of a new swing coach. All these subtle but vital changes in his game over the last few months led to his better numbers in approach-play statistics, a rank of second in ONEFlight Classic, and elevated his tee-to-green confidence.
"Every week I feel like I'm just trying to focus on not really the score but building where I want to be," Kim said.
His ultimate goal remains to compete at a high level consistently.
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Written by
Abhishek Sharma
Edited by
Ankita Yadav