The baffling mix-up that almost cost Tom Kim a spot in the Scottish Open

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[PHOTO: Gregory Shamus]

Tom Kim should not need a sponsor’s exemption to play a PGA Tour event. At 17th in the world with three wins to his name, the 22-year-old should be able to tee it up in any tournament he wants. Despite being fully exempt for this year’s Genesis Scottish Open – after a T-6 finish last year and a third-place finish in 2022 – Kim still needed some last-minute help to make the field at the Renaissance Club thanks to an honest, but near-costly, mistake.

“There was a mix-up on my team’s end. With deadlines and stuff with two tours, it sometimes gets confusing,” Kim said overnight, Australian time. “I only found out about it earlier the day before when I got a call from the team saying, ‘Hey, we messed up on our end. We are not trying to do anything weird but we messed up.’”

The missed deadline to commit to the Scottish Open required some finagling, but Kim will return with the Open Championship right around the corner. Kim also made sure to note that he loves the event and wasn’t trying to delay any commitments.

“Obviously I love coming out here. I would never do anything remotely weird to just flirt with the tournaments,” Kim said. “It was a complete mistake on the people who help me.

“This is one of the events that I circle at the start of the year, and I know I’m going to play. So, definitely, I would not try to do that on purpose.”

It doesn’t seem like every golfer buys Kim’s excuse with one going so far as to text Monday Q Info expressing their doubts.

“Dawg you go to links and press commit,” the unnamed pro remarked. “Takes legit 10 seconds.”

Nevertheless, Kim is on quite a run right now, playing nine straight events before taking a solitary week off heading into this Scotland double-header. That consistent presence is partly why Kim has become a fan favourite, but it also might be why he missed out on the deadline. Just thinking about all that golf could make even the most organised player confused. Luckily for Kim and golf fans alike, he got it straightened out just in time.

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