Making a maiden Augusta Masters appearance is the stuff of dreams, When you add a practice round alongside your life-long idol, it just cannot get any better.
So it was for Korean star Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim, making his first – and certainly not the last – appearance at Augusta National Golf Club for the first ‘major’ of the year. On Monday, he was paired with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Fred Couples for his first feel of the legendary course.
Only 20, Kim has been on cloud nine since driving through Magnolia Lane and stepping on the hallowed turf of Augusta National GC, the permanent home to the Masters Tournament. He now has to learn his way around the course – taking on golf history and a raft of champions – in the hunt for the champion’s Green Jacket that a first-timer at the Masters has very rarely got his hands on, the PGA Tour said.
Kim got to pick the brains of Woods, a five-time Masters winner, FedEx Cup champion McIlroy and the vastly-experienced Couples, who triumphed in 1992. His Monday nine-hole round, not unexpectedly, took place in front of large crowds that resembled the final day of a major tournament.
“A lot of laughter. So it was really fun,” said Kim at a media interaction on Tuesday.
“I think my first memory of just watching golf was the Masters and Tiger winning it (in 2005), and for me to be able to share my first official practice round with him was a dream come true, really. And to not just play with Tiger but to have Fred Couples and Rory join us, it was a dream.
“The guys were pretty serious and they were getting work done. It was just nice and enjoyable. Days like yesterday definitely makes me feel like dreams really do come true, especially for the guys back in Asia.
“You know, I had a goal, and I worked towards it, and it feels like days like yesterday definitely, the hard work kind of pays off.”
Not for nothing has the 20-year-old already won twice on the PGA Tour. Some weeks ago, he visited Augusta National several weeks ago for a feel of the layout and to get the “bug out”. This week it has all been about meticulous planning with his caddie Joe Skovron, and understanding the course intricacies from the masters themselves.
Two PGA Tour victories and a standout performance in the Presidents Cup last year propelled Kim into the global spotlight as he became the first golfer since Woods to win twice before turning 21. Kim could break Woods’ record of being the youngest Masters champion if he can pull off an improbable victory at the historic venue.
The last Masters debutant to win was Fuzzy Zoeller, in 1979. Only two others won on their first visits, Horton Smith, who won the inaugural Masters in 1934, and Gene Sarazen the following year.
But Kim is unfazed by all the history surrounding both the event and the venue.
“I got some really good work done, and this course actually does suit my eye a little bit. So I'm trying to prepare really well. Obviously some of the guys have been here a lot more than I have, but I have to adjust and adapt really quickly,” Kim said.
The Korean will play the opening two rounds alongside McIlroy and recent WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play winner, Sam Burns.
Asian storm
Two years after Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama became the first Asian winner at Augusta National, Kim reckons the Asian brigade at this week’s Masters, which includes countrymen Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim, K.H. Lee and another Japanese debutant Kazuki Higa, could well emerge as legitimate contenders.
“Obviously in major championship history, we haven't had many Asian golfers win. I feel like right now on the tour, there are a lot more Asian golfers than there were. Hopefully, especially the Masters, every single golfer wants to win it, but for an Asian golfer to win the Masters is going to be a lot more impactful.
“Hopefully this week, whether it's me or any Asian golfer will have a chance to win on Sunday and hopefully inspire the generations coming up,” he said.
“That would exceed expectations for sure,” Kim added when asked what it would mean to become the youngest Masters champion.
“I mean, I think everyone wants to win the Masters. Everyone wants to park in the champions parking lot. Everyone wants to go to the Champions Dinner. Everyone wants to fight for it. And I'm the same way, and hopefully I'll just be able to have a chance on Sunday. That would be a dream.”