PGA Tour winner Michael S Kim asks for his 'Nobel' after journalist's big claim about Torrey Pines

PGA Tour player Michael S Kim asked for his 'Nobel' after journalist Dan Rapaport made a big claim about the brutal playing conditions at the Genesis Invitational. The first round concluded on Thursday, February 13, at Torrey Pines South Course in San Diego, California.

In a post on X, Rapaport said that the weather and course conditions were so bad during the first round that he wouldn't want to play golf. He sarcastically said that anyone who shoots under par should be worthy of a Nobel Prize. He wrote on X:

"Anyone who shoots under par at Torrey today deserves a Nobel. Can’t remember a day I’d rather play golf less, on a certain course, than today at Torrey South."

In response, Michael S Kim, who managed to shoot under par, didn’t let the moment pass and wrote:

"Thank you! Let me know if you can send me one"

Kim finished 1-under 71 in the first round. He scored a bogey on the second hole of the front nine and was 1-over 36 after nine holes. On the back nine, he notched three birdies on the 12th, 13th and 18th holes against a bogey on par-3 16th.

The 31-year-old is currently tied for 7th with the likes of Nick Dunlap, Sam Burns, Nico Echavarria, Jake Knapp, Min Woo Lee, and Andrew Novak. Only 13 players scored under par in the first round of the Genesis Invitational due to heavy rainfall leading upto and during the round and the inherent difficulty of the course.

Dennis McCarthy leads the leaderboard after 18 holes with a score of 4-under par. Seamus Power and Patrick Rodgers are tied for second at 3-under. Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark and Davis Thompson are tied for fourth at 2-under. The winner of the 2025 Genesis Invitational will win $4 million from the prize purse of $20 million.

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When Michael S Kim shared his favorite part about Torrey Pines

Michael S Kim comes to the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines after a spectacular finish at the WM Phoenix Open. He finished as a runner-up at the TPC Scottsdale.

Kim had started strongly in the Genesis Invitational 2025. However, he failed to make the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, two weeks back at Torrey Pines itself. He had said last week in Arizona (via ASAP Sports):

"Yeah, I didn't play too well at the Farmers, but whenever I can play a tournament at Torrey Pines where I grew up playing it's a special week for me."

Sharing his favorite part of Torrey Pines, he said:

"Just the nostalgia I get walking down those fairways when I was 13, 14, 15, 16 years old, and to actually play the tournament is a really cool feeling."

Given his start, Michael S Kim is expected to successfully make the cut at the Genesis Invitational and a similar round as the first can put him in contention at the 99th edition of the tournament.