Tom Kim Ends Three-Year Drought and Reveals Tiger Woods Had First Word

Tom Kim had not won a PGA Tour event in three years. On Sunday at the Genesis Scottish Open, he finally snapped that streak. And the first message he saw on his phone came from someone who knows a thing or two about winning.

Tiger Woods texted him. Within minutes of Kim closing out the tournament at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland.

Kim shot a 6-under 64 in the final round to finish at 17-under 263. He beat Min Woo Lee by two shots. Johnny Keefer, Robert MacIntyre and Matt Fitzpatrick tied for third at 13-under. It was a wire-to-wire type of performance in the sense that Kim never really let anyone get too close on the back nine Sunday.

But the 24-year-old seemed just as fired up about who reached out after the trophy was handed over.

The TGL connection pays off

Kim and Woods are teammates on the Jupiter Links Golf Club in TGL, the indoor simulator league Woods co-founded. That relationship has given Kim a direct line to one of the greatest players ever, and he’s been using it.

“Obviously, on TGL, being on Tiger’s team, I’ve been able to ask him questions on certain things,” Kim told reporters after the win. “He’s been really helpful a lot of the time. You know, this was my first win in three years, and the first person that texted me was Tiger Woods. Shows you the person he is and how much he cares.”

Woods has been away from competitive golf since March, when he was arrested on DUI charges in Florida. He hasn’t played a PGA Tour event since. But he’s clearly still dialed into what’s happening on the course and who’s playing well.

Kim’s last win before this came at the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open. He had five top-25 finishes and two top-5s in 17 starts this season before the Scottish Open. Not terrible numbers, but not the kind of form that screamed “next win is around the corner” either. Then he put together four rounds in the 60s and got it done.

The Genesis Scottish Open is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, so the win counts as an official PGA Tour victory. That moves Kim up the FedExCup standings and locks up a spot in some bigger events down the road. Not that he was thinking about any of that Sunday night. He was still processing the text from Woods. And honestly, that’s probably the part of the story he’ll remember longest.