Tom Kim has shared what Scottie Scheffler did which really meant a lot to him as the American won a play-off at the Travelers Championship for his sixth title of the season.
Tom Kim missed out of the fourth PGA Tour title of his career on Sunday. The 22-year-old had led after the first round in Connecticut after opening with an -8 62 on Thursday, but he had a stacked leaderboard behind him.
And it was the world number one who managed to catch him over the weekend. Scottie Scheffler started the final round one shot behind the South Korean, but won on the first play-off hole to secure win number six of the season.
Scheffler reminded everyone of how good he could be after a lacklustre performance – by his standards at the US Open – while Kim registered just his second top 10 of the season.
Tom Kim lauds Scottie Scheffler after Travelers Championship battle
You would be forgiven for assuming that Kim was really feeling the pressure in the play-off, particularly when you consider the player that he was up against.
However, speaking in his press conference after the final round, Kim opened up on what a special relationship he has with Scheffler, and mentioned the great gesture from The Masters champion.
“Today I think I just had so much fun out there, it felt like a practice round with him. I play a lot of golf with him at home, and out here, we play a lot of practice rounds. As soon as we hit the tee shot in the play-off, it’s very rare for just the two of us to go out and play, but at the same time, it’s almost like we’re at home, but we just have hundreds of thousands of people on the golf course,” he said.
“But it’s been big. He’s a really good friend, I’ve learned a lot from him obviously, not just by watching, but by asking a lot of things, and he’s been so kind just to be able to share some stuff.
“I’m really happy for him, I know it’s his sixth win for the season and it hasn’t happened since Tiger. As much as I love him, I would’ve loved to have taken that away from him, but I’m happy for him. After he tapped out, he said some really nice words and it meant a lot to me.”
Best player on the planet right now
It has been a week where the golfing world has been left in awe by Bryson DeChambeau, with his transformation off the course almost as impressive as some of his performances on it this year.
Given how well DeChambeau has performed in the majors, there had been an argument to suggest that he was the best on the planet at this time.
However, Scheffler reminded everyone who really is the best right now. Six wins in the first-half of the season in unbelievable.
He may not be as loud as DeChambeau, and his style of play may not encourage the same number of talking points, but clearly, few are as respected by their peers quite as much as Scheffler is.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
