PGA Tour winner explains mix-up that almost cost him Scottish Open place

We all look forward to the Genesis Scottish Open, including PGA Tour winner Tom Kim.

The 22-year-old, already a three-time winner on the circuit, even circles the event on his calendar at the start of the year.

So, he was thankful to line up in the field at The Renaissance Club this week after a bizarre mix-up that almost cost him his place in East Lothian.

Kim – who has finished third and T6 in two starts in the event – missed the deadline to enter the tournament and, therefore, required a sponsor’s exemption.

“Yeah, obviously there was a mix-up on my team’s end,” he said, ahead of tomorrow’s opening round.

“Just with deadlines and stuff with two tours, it sometimes gets confusing. I only found out about it earlier the day before when I got a call from the team saying, ‘hey, we messed up on our end’.

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“We are not trying to do anything weird, but we missed up.”

Clearly, after two near misses on Scotland’s Golf Coast, Kim wanted to tee it up alongside a stellar field for the Rolex Series event.

“Obviously I love coming out here,” he said. “I would never do anything remotely weird to just flirt with the tournaments. It was a complete mistake on the people who help me.

“This is one of the events that I circle at the start of the year, and I know I’m going to play. “So, definitely, I would not try to do that on purpose.”

Despite making the cut in 16 PGA Tour starts this season, the South Korean has only recorded two top-ten finishes.

He will be hoping to use it as a springboard for the Open Championship the following week after finishing as last year’s runner-up at Hoylake.

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The two upcoming events in the Home of Golf will be his tenth and 11th consecutive starts.

It’s part of a plan to ‘find his game’ and secure some FedEx Cup points, as he acclimatises to a stint on this side of the Atlantic.

“It wasn’t like a panic situation where I need to get my FedEx points up,” he added. “It did play a little bit of a role. Just when I go to tournaments, I’m not sharp.

“I sat down with my team and the big thing was, I’ve just got to play in a lot of events. I have to get my tournament sharpness again. I was in some bad spots with my swing earlier in the season.”

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.