About 58/60 of his round, Si Woo Kim was good. So let’s start with the vast majority.
He was good with his playing partners Scottie Scheffler AND Brooks Koepkaand he was fine with their conversation, which apparently was so good that he said he could not share what was said and would leave it at that. “But it was nice,” he said. He was good, too, with TPC Craig Ranchin McKinney, Texas, which is near Kim’s home, and he was fine with the event, Byron Nelson supported by CJ Cupwhich supports Kim. “So everything feels like home and feels comfortable,” he said.
He was good on hole 1. Birded a 6 foot putt. And hole 3. Birdie again, on a 17-footer. And hole 5. Birdie again, after nearly getting home on the par-5 in two. And hole 6. Birdie again, after dropping a wedge to 4 feet. And hole 7. Birdie again, after rolling in a 19-foot putt. And hole 9. Birdie again, his front nine sixth, after landing just short of the green in two on the par-5.
Then came the back nine. Better.
Birdie on 10, on a 17-footer. Birdie on 11, after sticking an iron to 2 feet. Birdie at 12 after hitting to 5 feet from a bunker on the par-5 green. Birdie on the 14th after making an 8-foot putt. Birdie on 15 after hitting his tee shot from 3 to 8 feet, though Kim said he was in shock. “Some guy was sneezing on my backswing,” he said, “so I pulled back and hit an errant shot, and it went right.” At this point, people started talking about a 59, which only 14 players have accomplished in PGA Tour history, or a 58, which only Jim Furyk has shot. Hell, if Kim birdied the last three holes, he could shoot a 57.
“I was kidding out there earlier,” Scheffler said, “it seemed like I was hitting all my shots 15, 20 feet and Si Woo was hitting all his shots 8 feet or closer.
“Yeah, that was fun to watch.”
Kim split 16. But he made 17, which was good, and so was the putt. From just over the green and 16 feet away, Kim lobbed from right to left. Perhaps the most interesting statistic of Kim’s round was that he made only 20 shots. He put himself in reach, and he made putts — and when he was off the green, like he was at 17, he made them, too.
On 18, where a par would have given him a 59. Off the tee, he found the fairway. Good. It was the 56th strike.
From 200 yards out, the 57 shot went 215 yards and sailed over the green.
Adrenaline, he said. After the 17s, he admitted he was dreaming of a 59, though he said he also opted for a 6-iron instead of a 5.
“I think it was very strong,” he said of his heart. “So it went further than I thought.”
Stroke 58, from over the green, came up too short. Kim said he spun it a lot.
He had 18 feet left for first and 59.
