Tom Kim (birth name: Kim Joo-hyung) is a professional golf player from South Korea. Kim has two victories on the Asian and Korean tours and three on the PGA Tour as of January 2025. He began playing on the Philippine Golf Tour as a professional in May 2018 and started to perform predominantly on the Asian Development Tour in 2019. The Korean golfer won his maiden event at the PGM ADT Championship, six strokes clear of the field, in Malaysia in late June. The Asian Tour Order of Merit winner (2020–21–22) earned two fourth-place results in Malaysia in March, followed by two runner-up finishes in Thailand. At 17, Kim, the Korean Tour Player of the Year (2021), became the second youngest player on the Asian Tour to win the Panasonic Open India in November.
Kim placed fourth in the SMBC Singapore Open at the beginning of 2020. His performance earned him entry into the 2020 Open Championship, his first major championship in the Open Qualifying Series event. Kim is the second-youngest two-time PGA Tour winner behind Ralph Guldahl. As of 2024, Kim plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour.
Who are Tom Kim’s parents?
Tom Kim was born to his parents Changik Lee and Kwanjoo Kim on 21 June 2002 in Seoul, South Korea.
Tom was in an interview with Golfdigest in 2022, where he shared his childhood memories and experiences growing up. He said, "My family moved to Australia after living in South Korea and briefly in China. My parents wanted us to learn English". He added, "The cost of living in Australia was rising, so our family chose to move home to Asia. My parents decided that the Philippines was the best place for our family and my golf. I was 13 when we moved there. My parents home-schooled me so that I could play as much golf as possible".
Who is Tom Kim’s father?
Changik Lee, Tom's father, was a professional golfer who played on the Buy.com Tour as per Golf Monthly. Changik introduced his son to the sport when Kim was six.
"One of my parents always traveled with me, usually my dad. He caddied for me; we were doing everything we could to save money," Kim told Golfdigest in 2022. He quoted his father as saying, “Enjoy it a little bit but not to the point where you forget about the past." Kim further added, "Give it my best now so that when I retire, I won’t feel guilty; I won’t feel like there’s anything else I could have done".
Who is Tom Kim’s mother?
According to Tom Kim, Kwanjoo Kim possesses the same thinking as his father, who always believes in doing the best. Kim said, "My mom stands by that mentality, too" (via GolfDigest).
FAQs on Tom Kim’s Parents
A. Tom Kim has a South Korean ethnic background.
A. Tom Kim has an American accent because of his brothers based on Golf Digest.
A. Tom Kim speaks Tagalog fluently, as per PGA Tour.
A. Tom Kim is a Christian, based on Kore JoongAng Daily.
A. Tom Kim attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and played for the Bruins golf team, as per CLRN.org.