In a Masters grouping with major champs, an ‘excited’ Tom Kim feels headed for stardom

The replays of the shot are iconic around these parts.

You know the one — Tiger Woods, back side of hole No. 16 at the 2005 Masters, holding a one-shot lead over Chris DiMarco.

With a flick of the wrist, three bounces, a slow roll toward the slope and a slight push from gravity later, Woods canned what’s become one of the most iconic shots in tournament history.

Tom Kim, then just 3 years old, was watching.

“The green has changed,” Woods said Tuesday. “There is a new back, deeper hole location there that they tried to fit. But my chip there in 2005, the green is not the same as it was then.”

Fast-forward 17 years. It’s Monday at Augusta National. The grounds buzz with patrons patrolling the fairways. Kim, now in his sixth year as a professional, walks inside the ropes next to the man who inspired him to pick up the game almost two decades ago. Rory McIlroy and Fred Couples are there, too.

How’s that for a first-ever Masters practice round grouping?

“I think my first memory of just watching golf was the Masters and Tiger winning it,” Kim said. “For me to be able to share my first official practice round with him was a dream come true. And to not just play with Tiger but to have Fred Couples and Rory join us, it was a dream.”

Kim, 20, represents a growing youth movement on the PGA Tour. Scottie Scheffler, 26, has ascended to No. 1 in the world. Will Zalatoris, 26, has been at or near the top of most every prominent leaderboard and feels primed for a major win sooner than later. Sam Burns, 26, has also steadily climbed the world golf rankings and checks in at No. 11 entering this week. (Kim, McIlroy and Burns are grouped together for Thursday’s first round.)

Not quite at the stature of those burgeoning stars, Kim feels increasingly close to breaking through. He’s won — a lot. Kim has nine titles to his name since 2018 via starts on the Asian Tour, Philippine Golf Tour, Asian Development Tour and Korean Tour. That’s not to mention his victories at the Wyndham Championship and Shriner’s Children’s Open in 2022.

Play like that attracts its share of attention. Couples sure noticed.

The 1992 Masters champion first approached Kim about playing together at the Masters during the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow last fall. Couples, an assistant captain for the United States team, came away impressed with Kim. He wanted to make sure they linked up at Augusta.

The two kept in touch. Kim, too, kept showing out on the PGA Tour. He has three top 10s in his 11 events. He’s made the cut in 11 of those tournaments. With one exception, he finished under par in all events in which he played into the weekend.

Such a form — and the generally sunny and youthful demeanor that makes Kim one of the more likable young stars on tour these days — earns a player invites like the one he enjoyed on Monday.

“I love Tom Kim,” Couples said Monday. “We set this up at the Presidents Cup, and I think he was a little excited to play with Rory and Tiger. He had a blast, and they love him.”

In a fish bowl like the Masters, it’s easy for players like Kim to get lost in the shuffle. Crowds flood the course in search of Woods. Patrons contort their bodies for any kind of vantage point to see just one of McIlroy’s smooth strokes. Even Couples has his flurry of fans from his years competing at Augusta.

Kim represents a semi-unknown fresh face, the player with a career still yet to be determined.

The crowds roared for the quartet as they rolled past the stands guarding the 15th and 16th greens on Monday. They grew increasingly boisterous as Woods and McIlroy hit their shots into the 170-yard, par three 16th. Then, pandemonium.

As is customary during practice rounds at Augusta, the group made their way toward the water hazard in front of the 16th green to skip golf balls across the water and onto the putting surface. This usually happens one by one. Woods, McIlroy, Couples and Kim lined up side by side and swung in unison.

Never having gone through this pseudo-rite of passage at Augusta, Kim skied his ball. It didn’t even touch the water. Kim and McIlroy reared back and cackled.

“I didn’t really realize how low and steep you had to hit it, and I just took a normal swing and just tried to hit it a little low and just airmailed the green,” Kim conceded. “It didn’t even come out low enough. I hit it pin-high, and I’m just glad I didn’t hit anyone.”

Woods spent the bulk of his Tuesday press conference reflecting on Masters past, the car accident that has made his movement increasingly hobbled and makes hills at Augusta feel closer to Everest.

This came not an hour after Kim went through a pre-Masters press conference of his own — one filled with lighthearted banter, choruses of laughs and a maturity that explains how he was able to turn pro six (!!) years ago.

There’s a duality in Kim and Woods’ appearances in the media center. An all-time champion in Woods, who was refreshingly introspective about his potential chances — or lack thereof — at winning this week. That piggybacked off the youthful enthusiasm and starry-eyed explanations Kim gave of his first few walks around the grounds here at Augusta.

“I don’t know how many more I have in me,” Woods said. “So just (trying to) to appreciate the time that I have here and cherish the memories.”

Kim, whose given first name is Joo-hyung, explained Tuesday he chose the American name Tom, in part, from his love of Thomas the Tank Engine as a child.

Fitting.

The 20-year-old with a pristine swing, a President’s Cup appearance and a personality that matches his endearing nature has a game that’s put him on a steady trajectory on the PGA Tour. Showing out at Augusta — where only one Masters rookie has won the tournament since 1935 — is a next step.

He may not have had the experience in skipping the ball along the water on No. 16 like his playing partners on Monday, but there will be ample chances to do so again in the coming years.

Kim is seemingly on a fast track to stardom. Mind the rails. He may well run you over.