PGA Tour pro Michael S. Kim has a surprised reaction to trending as 'around a top-25 player in the world’

Michael S. Kim was taken by surprise after seeing his name trend as "around a top-25 player in the world" in Data Golf Rankings. The American golfer has been incredible in the last few weeks, vaulting significantly in the rankings, which rank the best golfers in the world.

Kim’s impressive 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational run made him quickly jump in the rankings. Per Fried Egg Golf, following his recent performances, Data Golf has him trending in the top 25 players in the world. They shared the stats on their X (formerly Twitter) account, writing:

"Michael S. Kim's (T-5) strong run of golf continues. His 25-round moving average hasn't quite reached his peak but @DataGolf has him trending around a top-25 player in the world"

Kim took to the comment section of the post to share his reaction:

"👀"

Data Golf determines the ranking of the "players based on average field strength-adjusted scores of players." The scores are considered from amateur and professional tournaments, and recent events have more weight. As of March 3, 2025, Scottie Scheffler was leading the Data Golf Rankings, followed by Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Jon Rahm, who now plays on LIV Golf.

Per the golf analyst Kyle Porter, Michael S. Kim was outside the top 500 in the Data Golf Rankings as of April 2022. However, he has made quite an impressive jump in the last few years. Porter shared the news on his X (formerly Twitter) account, writing:

"Michael Kim was outside the DataGolf top 500 as recently as April 2022. Will probably be ~30 after this week."

As of March 3, 2025, Kim was ranked 38th in the Data Golf Rankings, and after the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he is projected to be within the top 30.

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A look into Michael S. Kim's performance at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Coming straight from his solid outing at the 2025 Cognizant Classic, Michael S. Kim had a memorable week at Bay Hill. He started his game at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday, March 6, with a round of 75, but the next three were impressive, and he managed to finish in the top 5.

In the opening round, Kim made two bogeys, a birdie, and a double bogey for a 3-over 75. After that, he started the second round with three back-to-back birdies and another on the fifth. However, he struggled on the ninth hole and made a double bogey. On the back nine, he made two birdies and a bogey on the 15th for a 3-under 69. His game only improved as the tournament progressed, and he went on to play a bogey-free round of 5-under 67 with two eagles and a birdie on Saturday, March 8.

In the finale, Kim shot five birdies and two bogeys for a 3-under 69 settling in fourth place on the leaderboard. Before the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he settled in T6 at the Cognizant Classic and T2 at the WM Phoenix Open.