KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Joohyung Kim was listed when he played in the 2020 PGA Championship at Harding Park as an 18-year-old, and when he nearly won the Genesis Scottish Open last summer on a sponsor’s exemption.
Now he is known by his nickname – Tom Kim – and his game. The 20-year-old South Korean won the Windham Championship, put in an impressive performance in the Presidents Cup and outlasted Patrick Cantlay in Las Vegas at the Shriners Open Kids.
It is also the newest member of the Nike family.
Kim arrived at Kapalua wearing a swoosh on his hat, jersey, and shoes, as part of an endorsement deal he signed during the short off-season.
“It’s great for me,” Kim said. “Nike is definitely a brand where they only look at the big guys and I’m so, so grateful they thought of me. I think it’s a great move. It looks great and I’m thrilled to be part of the swoosh team.” “
It was previously sponsored by CJ Corp. Based in South Korea, it is the main sponsor of the CJ Cup on the PGA Tour and has been seen on the caps and apparel of many South Korean players such as Sungjae Im, KH Lee and Si Woo Kim.
It’s a deal that reflects the more cosmopolitan nature of Tom Kim, who is already popular with his peers thanks to his playfulness and sense of humor. Kim was born in South Korea and his family moved to Australia, and later to the Philippines.
“I wanted people to see on TV that I’m Korean, but also that I’m not only Asian,” said Kim, who speaks Korean and English with equal ease, and still knows a little Tagalog. “I’m the only Asian golfer on Team Nike.”
KJ Choi, one of the pioneers of men’s golf in South Korea, was with Nike during its peak years.
His time was also important to Kim, and with minimal care, it paid off.
“Time was a thing, and looking stylish and being with a global brand was important to me,” he said.
Trump International to host the ladies on European tour
The Saudi-backed Aramco Series on the Women’s European Tour is bringing women’s golf back to Trump International Golf Club in Florida.
LET has announced an aggressive upgrade to its 2023 schedule, which will include 30 tournaments including the Solheim Cup in Spain, which is being played for nearly $40m (€35m) in 21 countries.
Aramco (Saudi Arabian Oil Company) sponsors six championships. This includes the $5 million Saudi Aramco Women’s International, the largest in women’s golf excluding the Grand Five and the CME Group Tour Championship on the LPGA Tour. The field will feature 60 LET players and 50 of the top 300 players in the world.
The Aramco Series, championships previously won by Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson, has five tournaments in Singapore, Florida, London, Asia and Saudi Arabia.
The Florida stop is Trump International in West Palm Beach and previously hosted the season-ending ADT Championship on the LPGA Tour. It was last played in 2008. It is scheduled for May 19-21. The LPGA Tour stopped that week, and would play the previous week in New Jersey (Founders’ Cup) and the following week in Las Vegas (Match Play).
“LET has grown rapidly over the past three years, and our last Q-school has been outnumbered, demonstrating a record level of interest,” said Alexandra Armas, Tour CEO. “LET now offers a platform for women to build successful careers and pursue their professional golf dreams.”
The season starts from February 2-5 in Kenya and ends November 23-26 with the Andalusian Costa del Sol Open in Spain.
lasting impression
Puerto Rico Open winner Ryan Brehm had a lot of exposure to golf growing up in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. For starters, his grandfather started a golf course designed by Dan Pohl, a former Mount Pleasant native and former PGA Tour player, called PohlCat.
Brehm wasn’t even a teenager when another Mount Pleasant resident used to go for it. That would be Kelly Robbins, a nine-time LPGA Tour winner who has been among the best swings on the tour.
“Kellie would come home and would rehearse there from time to time,” Brimm said.
He said that Robbins often went out with her father to hit putts and fish, and he recalled once that Robbins brought a friend from the LPGA – World Golf Hall of Fame member Carrie Webb.
“I’ll be there rehearsing and Carrie Webb will be there,” Brehm said. “I’m watching Kelly Robbins and Carrie Webb hit a 9-iron on that pin and it was like, ‘Wow, that’s impressive.'” Every shot was a laser beam. The ball flew just right. It got compressed. I would go in there and look at the spacers and they were lined up like dollar bills. It was great to see.”
Brehm makes his Sentry Tournament of Champions debut as a first-time PGA Tour winner.
international tv
The PGA Tour and Warner Bros. Discovery structured a 12-year, $2 billion deal signed in 2018, a move that allows the tour to manage international media rights in most markets as it did before.
What does that mean for viewers of Discovery-owned GolfTV, which shut down last month? Not much at all.
Discovery was the exclusive international distributor for PGA Tour content through GolfTV. PGA Tour coverage will now be available through Eurosport or Discover+ in most European markets and some in Latin America.
The PGA Tour will manage international media rights for other markets, as it did prior to 2019.
“We are pleased that the restructured relationship will not disrupt viewing in 2023,” the tour said in a message to its media partners.
Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement that the company has changed to meet consumers’ viewing habits.
“In an evolving media landscape, we’ve found that including sports within a broader consumer offering provides greater value to subscribers and their wider families, as well as opening sports up to a larger audience,” the company said.
DIVOTS
Patrick Cantlay, the No. 4 player in the world, is a free agent in the equipment market. He arrived in Kapalua with a black bag after the Titleist deal had expired and Cantlay chose not to renew it. Representatives from Callaway and Ping approached him to send him clubs to try. Cantlay keeps Telelist in the Sentry Tournament of Champions briefcase. … a new member of the world golf rankings has been appointed. It says that a 5-year-old developmental circuit supported by the Mexican Golf Federation will be included in the OWGR system this year. The name of the tour is Gira de Golf Professional de Mexicana. … Adam Scott is approaching an extended vacation in Australia. He plays both tournaments in Hawaii and then back down until the Genesis Invitational in Riviera in mid-February. … Scott Langley now leads player relations for the USGA, taking over when Jason Gore went to work on the PGA Tour. Langley retired in 2021 after a decade on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.
case of the week
Ryan Bream ended 2022 by missing a chop in his last nine championships. The Sentry Tournament of Champions marks the first time he has played a tournament without a cut.
last word
“The only reason I came and played the PGA Tour was because when I played a major it felt like the same as any other event.” Three-time Irish champion Padraig Harrington.
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