Tom Kim Reflects on Positives After Narrow Playoff Loss to Scheffler at Travelers Championship
Tom Kim walked off the course with his head held high after a heart-wrenching playoff defeat to the world’s top golfer, Scottie Scheffler, at the Travelers Championship on Sunday. The 22-year-old phenom led the field through the first three rounds at TPC River Highlands, culminating in a gutsy 10-foot birdie on the final hole to force extra time against his friend and practice partner, Scheffler.
Despite his valiant effort, Kim’s playoff hopes were dashed when a plugged lie in the greenside bunker led to a bogey on the first extra hole. Scheffler, on the other hand, calmly secured the victory with a routine two-putt par, marking his sixth PGA Tour title of the season. This win made Scheffler the fourth player to achieve six or more wins in a season since Tiger Woods last did so in 2009.
“I’m going to definitely look at this week as a positive,” Kim remarked, reflecting on his career-best 258 total score after a final round of 66.
Kim, already a three-time Tour winner, took solace in the fact that no player bested him through the regulation 72 holes. He found further confidence in his performance statistics, topping the leaderboard in driving accuracy (48/56), greens in regulation (66/72), and scrambling (6/6). The $20 million event, the eighth and final Signature event of 2024, saw Kim drop only two bogeys all week, both due to three-putts. He also ranked 20th in Strokes Gained: Putting.
“Against the best players in the world, I fought really hard,” Kim said. His performance boosted him from No. 61 to No. 39 on the FedExCup points list. “I had so much fun out there, felt like a practice round with Scottie… 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.”
Kim and Scheffler share a close friendship, a mutual Christian faith, and the same birthdate of June 21. Scheffler, who turned 28 last Friday, outperformed Kim, who turned 22, at crunch time. Scheffler hit three consecutive birdies from holes 13 to 15 to briefly take the lead. Kim responded with birdies on 13 and 15, and celebrated a spectacular birdie on the final hole with a fist pump reminiscent of his 2022 Presidents Cup heroics.
“It was a great finish. This golf course produces a lot of those, you know, the exciting stuff coming down the stretch,” Scheffler said. “It’s great competing against one of my good buddies in Tom Kim, but it’s also very difficult at the same time. I want what’s best for him, and so sometimes it can be hard, I think, for both of us, you know, battling against each other out there. But it was a lot of fun and I’m proud to be sitting here with the trophy.”
With his second runner-up finish on Tour, Kim now sets his sights on the Rocket Mortgage Classic, buoyed by a T4 finish at the RBC Canadian Open earlier this month. “I feel like this year has been a lot of learning,” Kim reflected. “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.”
Kim’s journey continues as he embraces the lessons and experiences from each tournament. “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.”
The young Korean star remains optimistic, ready to leverage his newfound confidence and performance metrics as he prepares for his ninth consecutive tournament.
