The new era of golf is not very far away. The future stars of the sport are already honing their skills to take over the pro golf greens. Among them, a few are ready to carry forward the legacy of their parents. Probably the most famous of them all would be Charlie Woods. Another prodigal teenager, Kris Kim, whose mother, Ji-Hyun Suh, graced the LPGA circuit back in the 90s, has been the talk of the golf town.
The two amateur golfers’ journeys to the PGA Tour differ a bit. On the one hand, Charlie Woods’s attempts to make his PGA Tour debut haven’t been fruitful, whereas Kris Kim is ready to tee up along with 156 players at TPC Craig Ranch. So who among the two young talents has faired better on the golf course?
In February, Charlie Woods took his first step towards making his PGA Tour debut possible. The 15-year-old participated in the pre-qualifier for the Cognizant Classic. He shot par on 11 of the 18 holes but managed to card four bogeys and three double bogeys, going without a birdie, and ended with a score of 16-over-86, Jr. Woods could not qualify for the event and his performance was also heavily scrutinized by the audience.
Woods made another attempt by competing at the U.S. Open qualifier. The 15-year-old once again met with disappointment as he failed to qualify. Woods carded one birdie, which was followed by four bogeys and three double bogeys in Florida, and finished with a score of 9 over 81 carded. Where only the top 5 players were to qualify for the championship, he was ranked 61 among a field of 74 golfers. According to the PGA Tour, he has a +3 handicap with the Florida State Golf Association.
When it comes to Kris Kim, the 16-year-old has quite an impressive record on the greens. In 2023, Kim won the MacGregor Trophy and the Boys’ Amateur Championship. One other glorious win that grabbed the headlines was his outstanding debut performance at the Junior Ryder Cup 2023, which helped his team triumph over the US team that consisted of Miles Russell, another young talent to look out for.
Three years ago, his handicap score was +3.1. Now Kim will be getting a chance to test himself against other Pros at the CJ Cup with Byron Nelson. Kim also shared his feelings ahead of his PGA Tour debut and revealed what has got him excited about the Texas event.
Kris Kim shares excitement about making it on the PGA Tour
The 16-year-old Kris Kim became the first amateur to be sponsored by the CJ Group last year, in May. After a year, he has now gotten the privilege of receiving an invitation to play in Texas at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson ahead of his GCSE exams. He is all geared up to play with the pros. “I’m so excited to tee it up in Texas. It’s what you work towards all the time and it’s an amazing opportunity,” said Kim.
Kris Kim’s constant support has been his former LPGA Pro mother, Ji-Hyun Suh. After retiring, she took up teaching golf at a driving range in England and, of course, imparted her knowledge to her son as well. Now Kim is walking in her footsteps. She is the backbone of his strategic gameplay; as the Walton Heath player said, “She’s my coach and we talk about everything from dealing with nerves, taking one shot at a time, leaving bad shots behind, and keeping it simple right through to course strategy.”
Kris Kim will be living his dream, not just playing on the PGA Tour but also getting an opportunity to play with the clubs that were signed by his heroes. “I’m a huge Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy fan so when they signed I desperately wanted to use their clubs too!” Now the question is, will the 16-year-old be able to keep up with the PGA Tour pros on the TPC Craig Ranch? Stay tuned to find out!
