Dallas Golfers Help South Korea Grow PGA Presence

Si Woo Kim, Tom Kim enjoy homecoming at the Byron Nelson

When Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth were grouped together during the first two rounds of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in early May, huge galleries watched every shot.

Both PGA Tour stars have been crowd favorites since debuting at the tournament while still in high school — Scheffler at Highland Park and Spieth at Jesuit Dallas.

But a sizable contingent of fans also took a rooting interest in their other playing partner, Si Woo Kim, a South Korea native and Tour veteran who now lives in Preston Hollow.

“Excited for here and excited to play,” Kim said prior to this year’s tournament. “I’m not playing all the time (at TPC Craig Ranch), but I’ve come here like twice a year maybe. It’s close to home.”

Kim, 29, has four wins in more than a decade on the PGA Tour. None have come at the Nelson, although he tied for the runner-up spot behind Jason Day in 2023. He was 15th in this year’s event.

Kim shares a home course with Scheffler at Royal Oaks Country Club, where the two have become friends while playing practice rounds.

“We play in the same money games on weekends. He’s a lot of fun to be around,” Scheffler said. “People don’t realize he is probably one of the funniest guys we have on Tour. Just has really good comedic timing and he is the best.”

There are more Korean golfers on Tour than ever before and nowhere is that evident more than at the Nelson, which rebranded with Seoul-based conglomerate CJ Group as the title sponsor last year.

Korea natives have won the tournament four times in the past 12 years, including K.H. Lee back-to-back in 2021 and 2022, and Coppell’s Sung Kang in 2019.

Hoping to join them in the future is Joo-hyung “Tom” Kim, 22, who also recently relocated to Preston Hollow and has played the Nelson in each of the past four years.

His first appearance came in 2022, shortly before he broke through with his first two Tour victories. He finished 17th in that debut and missed the cut this year.

“It’s a home week. That’s always really nice. I have good memories here,” Tom Kim said. “I haven’t really played the best that I could have the last few years, but this was my first appearance before my really big run in ’22, and I think every time I come back I kind of just reflect to those moments — the emotion, the excitement I felt coming in here and playing here.”