Tom Kim finally broke through on Sunday, claiming his fourth PGA Tour title at the Genesis Scottish Open after more than a thousand days without a victory.
The 24-year-old South Korean fired a stunning bogey-free 64 in his final round to finish 17-under par, beating Min Woo Lee by two shots at The Renaissance Club.
But it was what happened immediately after that truly captured the moment.
“This was my first win in three years, and the first person that texted me was Tiger Woods,” Kim revealed.
Tiger Woods was the first person to message Tom Kim after his fine win
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The pair are teammates on Jupiter Links Golf Club in TGL, the indoor golf league co-founded by Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Kim has been able to lean on Woods for advice since joining his TGL squad, and it’s clearly made a difference.
“Being on Tiger’s team in TGL, I’ve been able to ask him questions and he’s been really helpful a lot of the time,” Kim explained.
“Shows you the person he is and how much he cares.”
It turns out Woods has form for this sort of thing. Rory McIlroy previously revealed that the 15-time major champion is “always the first” to send a message after big wins.
Tom Kim was in fabulous form to win the Scottish Open
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“Like, he’ll text you, like, before the last putt drops,” McIlroy said on Netflix’s Full Swing. “Always the first. He’s unreal.”
Kim’s path to this triumph has been anything but smooth.
After bursting onto the scene with three wins by the end of 2023, he admitted he “got a taste of humble pie” as his form deserted him.
The young star tumbled out of the world’s top 100, failing to qualify for both the 2026 Masters and PGA Championship.
Things got so tough he had to battle through qualifying just to reach the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
That grind paid off brilliantly, though, with Kim finishing solo third – a result that clearly sparked his belief heading into Scotland.
Kim was visibly emotional after sealing the win, reflecting on the difficult times he’d endured.
Tiger Woods and Tom Kim are on the same TGL team
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“I just remember how I felt a lot of the times when I wasn’t playing well and it was difficult,” he said. “Golf is a very up-and-down sport. I’m definitely appreciating this more now than I did a couple years ago.”
Beyond Woods, Kim credited world number one Scottie Scheffler as someone he’s studied closely, praising his “self-awareness and maturity” in press conferences.
The Scottish crowds were brilliant too, Kim noted, despite their support for local hero Bob MacIntyre.
“The Scottish fans are some of the best fans in the world,” he said. “It’s the Home of Golf, so to be able to win a trophy here, it’s awesome for me.”