Tom Kim reflects on a solid round in windy conditions, highlighting how a stronger mental approach has been key to regaining confidence in his game. After a tough mid-season stretch, Kim shares how taking time to reflect at the end of the year helped him reset, make small changes, and start building momentum again. He talks about the importance of patience, trusting the process, and focusing on progress instead of forcing results. Drawing on lessons from past highs and lows, Kim explains why golf is as much a mental challenge as a physical one — and why he feels ready to keep improving heading into next year.
Tom, nice playing today. Uh, what was how would you kind of characterize the round today? Um, pretty really solid. You know, I managed it really well out there. It was windy and got off to a really good start. Um, you know, made a couple mistakes, but um, you know, I felt like the mentally just the bounce back was was really well done and um, you know, I think definitely confident going into the weekend. What do you feel like you’re doing maybe better this week that you that you’ve done maybe during the during the course of the year? You know, I’ve just I’ I’ve fundamentally gotten a lot better. I think mentally I’ve gotten a lot better. Uh a lot more clear of what I need to do, how I need to do it, which is I think really big. Um and you know, I think kind of the end of the year to right now I was just kind of building. you know, it’s hard when when you don’t have momentum going and then it’s not as bad as it is, but mentally you just, you know, you have scar tissue on certain shots and you know, the conference goes away. Um, and it’s a big mental game. So, like when you’re not confident about yourself on the golf course, you just you’re not going to hit as good shots as as you normally would be able to. Um, but after the season got done, I just I think I everything just I I saw everything more clearly what I how I needed to get it done. And I’ve been ever since you know the last putt dropped um after the season I just I kind of kept working towards that and it’s been building blocks every week um till today and as we’ll progress to you know next year. Is is that something maybe you just needed some time off to kind of see you could that you couldn’t really see when you had to keep kind of just playing and playing and playing. It’s hard. Yeah. You know it’s when you’re not playing well you just kind of have to play events because of how the schedule works now. you don’t really get to just take time off and then reflect and then kind of keep going. You you actually have to keep playing even when your momentum is on as well. And um but midcourse, you know, mid year, I just told myself, you know, once this year’s done, I think I get to really see myself. And, you know, I’ve made a few changes. And as those changes were made, you know, I got to see bits and bits and pieces kind of come together. And as time just kind of kept going and as I kept working, I just everything just kind of is slowly coming back together. Do you feel like maybe you’re playing like you did maybe a couple years ago, you know, um just when you won a couple tournaments? Um inside my mind, yes. Uh I felt like my best golf was actually last fall. Um you know, I finished second four times last year. You know, uh where my where I was mentally and I felt like the fall was really good. And it’s just amazing how in those moments you just have to realize like how special those good golf moments are and what what got you there. Uh you can’t really I I told Todd about this just a few moments ago, but you can’t try to change too much of trying to become the best player you can be. You know, it’s very the margins so small out here and you just got to got to keep your keep your head down and I’ve been doing that and like I said like hard work. I think this is the hardest hardest about golf is you work hard. Just because you work hard doesn’t mean you’ll play well. And I’m very grateful that my hard work has produced some good scores. But, you know, as I kind of keep going this this rest of the fall and until next year, I’m just my mindset is more focused on, you know, putting work on my progress and my practices and then just kind of let results come instead of trying to force those results just because I worked hard. So, it seems like if I’m hearing right, you worked on inside, you know, between the ears and that’s helping your game uh the physical game. I haven’t, you know, like I haven’t, it’s not like I’ve I’ve saw a therapist or something, you know, like it’s more of just kind of when when after the season got done, just really sitting with myself and reflecting and what mistakes I’ve made, what could what I what could I what could I have done because I the start of the like start of the season, I didn’t play that bad. You know, I was 27th at FedEx, finished seventh at Pebble. You know, I had you I was in the final two groups at waist and after that that was when it like I started playing bad. But, you know, players, I was plus 10 strokes gained approach, but I just I didn’t really have a good around the game. you think about one bad shot and then so like I said it’s just more of a, you know, realizing what I what I did wrong and being able to realize what I the good things I’ve done and just kind of putting those pieces together and really taking it step by step of okay, what do I need to do to get back to, you know, how I can play good golf again. Thanks, Tom. Thank you. Appreciate it.
