Tom Kim Bio
Kim Joo-hyung, commonly known as Tom Kim, is a South Korean professional golfer who has become one of the most talked-about young players in the international game. Born in Seoul on 21 June 2002, he turned professional in May 2018 at the age of fifteen and has since built a résumé that includes three victories on the PGA Tour, two wins on the Asian Tour, and two wins on the Korean Tour. Across his short career, Kim has also posted results on developmental circuits in Asia, including the Philippine Golf Tour and the Asian Development Tour.
Early Life and Background
Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in a household shaped by professional golf. His father, Kim Chang-ik, is a former Buy.com Tour player who later worked as a teaching professional. Because of his father’s career, the family spent extended periods in Australia, the Philippines, and later Thailand, giving Kim early exposure to a wide range of golf courses and competitive environments outside South Korea.
That itinerant childhood helped Kim develop a flexible game and a comfort with travel that has carried into his professional schedule. In 2018, shortly before turning professional, he won the Philippine Amateur Open Championship and the W Express RVF Cup Amateur Championship, confirming his readiness for the paid ranks at a young age.
Path to Professional Golf
Kim turned professional in May 2018 and began his career on the Philippine Golf Tour. The following year he focused primarily on the Asian Development Tour, where he recorded multiple top finishes in Malaysia and Thailand before winning the PGM ADT Championship in Malaysia by six strokes. He added the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament in Indonesia in a playoff and the Raya Pakistan Open by nine shots later that year, with the third title earning him automatic promotion to the Asian Tour for the remainder of 2019.
In November 2019, Kim won the Panasonic Open India, becoming the second youngest professional to win on the Asian Tour at 17 years and 149 days. The event was shortened to 54 holes because of smog. In early 2020, he finished fourth at the SMBC Singapore Open, a result that secured his first major championship start at the 2020 Open Championship.
Tom Kim Career
Asian Tour Breakthrough (2022)
Kim opened 2022 by winning the Singapore International, beating Rattanon Wannasrichan in a playoff, and followed it with a runner-up finish at the SMBC Singapore Open. Those performances made him the leading money winner of the 2020–21–22 Asian Tour season. In July 2022, he posted a solo-third finish at the Genesis Scottish Open, a co-sanctioned event between the PGA Tour and the European Tour, qualifying through the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association.
A tied 47th finish at the 2022 Open Championship made Kim eligible for Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour for the rest of the 2021–22 season. He then secured full PGA Tour status for the 2022–23 season with a seventh-place finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
PGA Tour Breakthrough (2022)
The week after locking his tour card, Kim opened the Wyndham Championship with a quadruple-bogey 8 and responded with a final-round 61 to win his first PGA Tour title, earning a spot in the 2022 FedEx Cup Playoffs. Later that autumn, he won the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, becoming the second youngest two-time PGA Tour winner behind Ralph Guldahl and the first player to win twice on tour before turning 21 since Tiger Woods in 1996.
Kim qualified for the International team at the 2022 Presidents Cup, where he won two and lost three of his five matches and was widely praised for his energetic play. In October 2023, he won the Shriners Children’s Open for the second straight year, joining Byron Nelson as the only golfers to win the same PGA Tour event twice in the same season.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Kim’s career milestones, his consecutive Shriners Children’s Open titles in 2022 and 2023 stand out, along with his Wyndham Championship rally from a quadruple-bogey to a winning 61. His Presidents Cup performance further established him as a presence in team competition. The nickname Tom itself reportedly comes from Thomas the Tank Engine, a childhood favorite.
Tom Kim Career Wins
Across sanctioned tours, Tom Kim has recorded professional victories on the PGA Tour, the Asian Tour, the Korean Tour, the Asian Development Tour, and the Philippine Golf Tour. The totals listed in major tour records show three PGA Tour wins, two Asian Tour wins, and two Korean Tour wins, supplemented by developmental titles in Asia during his late teens.
PGA Tour Highlights
Kim’s first PGA Tour victory came at the 2022 Wyndham Championship, where he erased a poor opening hole with a closing 61. He added the Shriners Children’s Open later that autumn, then repeated at the Shriners Children’s Open in 2023 to join Byron Nelson in a select group of repeat winners of the same event in back-to-back seasons. In PGA Tour playoff competition, Kim holds an 0–1 record.
Other Wins and Performances
On the Asian Tour, Kim captured the 2022 Singapore International in a playoff and was a runner-up the following week at the SMBC Singapore Open. Earlier in his career he added developmental victories on the Asian Development Tour and the Philippine Golf Tour, including the PGM ADT Championship, the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament, and the Raya Pakistan Open in 2019. In European Tour playoff competition, Kim holds an 0–1 record, and his Asian Tour playoff record stands at 1–0.
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Tom Kim Family
Family Background and Golf Lineage
Golf runs through Tom Kim’s family. His father, Kim Chang-ik, played on what is now known as the Buy.com Tour before transitioning into a career as a teaching professional. That background placed the family in Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand during Kim’s formative years, and it helped shape his early introduction to tournament golf.
Personal Life
Public details about Kim’s personal life remain limited. He is identified by the nickname Tom, which he has said comes from the character Thomas the Tank Engine, a favorite from his childhood. Beyond that, verifiable personal details beyond his nationality and birthplace are not widely documented.
2025 Season Performance
Tom Kim’s 2025 campaign builds on the platform of his three PGA Tour titles, with a schedule that includes signature events and major championships. Coming off consecutive Shriners Children’s Open wins in 2022 and 2023, he returns to the autumn swing as a proven closer with proven results in Las Vegas.
Having already secured Special Temporary Membership and full tour status earlier in his career, Kim now plays with the comfort of an established PGA Tour member rather than a rookie. His prior experience representing the International team at the Presidents Cup adds a team-event dimension to his 2025 calendar.
With his track record of winning on co-sanctioned and invitational-style fields, and with a swing refined across courses in Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States, Kim enters 2025 as a young veteran whose form, course management, and calm under pressure continue to define his outlook.