TOM KIM'S RISE

MAY SPARK ASIAN WAVE AS SE-RI PAK ONCE DID FOR WOMEN GOLF

- Chuah Choo Chiang

A comment by Jordan Spieth, arguably one of the most articulate and thoughtful athletes on the PGA Tour, was probably lost amidst the noise that has been surrounding the professional game in recent months. It was prophetic and if proven true, may well be a game-changer for Asian golf.

During the CJ Cup in South Carolina recently,  the three-time major champion was asked about Korean phenom Tom Kim, who has achieved instant stardom by sandwiching a stunning pair of PGA Tour victories with a standout Presidents Cup debut at Quail Hollow that International Team captain Trevor Immelman hailed Kim as "a tremendous gift to our sport."

Spieth somewhat likened the rapid rise of the 20-year-old to the Korean wave of success on the LPGA Tour, which began over two decades ago, and was coincidentally sparked by another 20-year-old then. Se-ri Pak, a World Golf Hall of Famer, has for long been credited for changing the face of women's golf with her brilliance, charm and spectacular emergence during the late 1990s which drove Korean women to dominate on the LPGA Tour.

"Got an unbelievably bright future as a lot of these young Koreans," Spieth said of Tom Kim during The CJ Cup, which was launched as Korea's lone PGA TOUR event in 2017 but has since been staged in the U.S. due to the challenges of Covid-19.

"Seems like right now, you have this progression that you've seen on the LPGA Tour over the last 10 years is starting to happen on the PGA TOUR, with young and talented Korean players that are coming out and not afraid to win at an early age. Si Woo (Kim) might be one of the most talented individuals in the game of golf and it's always been fun to watch him play. So I think the future's really bright."