Si Woo Kim: Why the PGA Tour’s Most Chaotic Talent is Actually its Best

Si Woo Kim: Why the PGA Tour’s Most Chaotic Talent is Actually its Best

Si Woo Kim is the only guy on the PGA Tour who can snap a putter in a fit of rage, putt with a 3-wood for nine holes, and still make the rest of the field look like amateurs.

Honestly, he’s a bit of an enigma. Most pro golfers are curated, polished brands, but Kim is pure, unfiltered competitive fire. You never quite know which version of him you’re going to get when he steps onto the first tee, but when he’s "on," there isn't a pin he can't attack.

He isn't just another name on the leaderboard. He’s the guy who won the Players Championship at 21 years old—youngest ever—and didn't even seem that stressed about it. People forget how insane that is. TPC Sawgrass eats legends for breakfast, and a kid who barely looked old enough to buy a beer just dismantled it.

The Record-Breaking Machine Nobody Talks About

Most people focus on the big four or five names in golf, but Si Woo Kim has quietly been stacking a resume that's starting to look Hall of Fame-adjacent.

Take the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. He stepped up to the 6th hole—a 252-yard par-3—and pulled a 5-wood. Most of us are happy just to keep a 5-wood on the planet. Kim? He jars it.

That ace didn't just fire up the crowd; it broke his own record. Just a year prior, at the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon, he hit a 238-yard hole-in-one, which was the longest in major history at the time. To break your own "longest ace" record in back-to-back years is statistically stupid. It shouldn't happen.

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But that’s basically the Si Woo experience. He specializes in the improbable.

He’s currently sitting with four PGA Tour wins, including the 2023 Sony Open where he chased down Hayden Buckley with a back-nine charge that felt inevitable. As we head into the 2026 season, he's ranked 7th in the early Power Rankings for a reason. The guy is a ball-striking machine who led the field in proximity to the hole during his Sony win.

The "Shush" Heard 'Round the World

If you want to understand Si Woo Kim, you have to watch him in match play. Specifically, you have to look at the 2022 Presidents Cup.

The International team usually gets beat up by the Americans, but Kim was the lone wolf who didn't care about the script. In his singles match against Justin Thomas—a guy who practically lives for match play trash talk—Kim drained a clutch par putt on the 15th and immediately put his finger to his lips.

He shushed the entire American crowd. In North Carolina.

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It was ballsy. It was loud. It was exactly what the International team needed. He ended up beating Thomas 1-up, proving that while he might look calm and stoic, the "fire burns hot" inside, as Adam Scott once put it. He's a specialist in high-pressure team formats because he thrives on the friction.

Breaking Down the "Textbook" Swing

Technically speaking, Kim’s swing is a work of art.

If you watch a slow-mo of his transition, his lag is Tier 1. For the non-golf nerds: lag is the angle between the lead arm and the club shaft on the way down. Kim increases that angle as he starts his downswing, which allows him to compress the ball like he’s trying to delete it from existence.

  • Height: 5'11"
  • Driving Distance: Usually around 295-300 yards (not the longest, but efficient).
  • The Secret Weapon: His "around-the-green" game. In 2025, he ranked 2nd in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

His short game is his get-out-of-jail-free card. He was 10-for-10 in scrambles during his Players Championship win. Ten for ten. On Sunday. That is pure nerves of steel.

What’s Next for Si Woo?

He’s 30 now. That's usually when golfers hit their prime.

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He’s already earned over $30 million on Tour, and while the putting can be streaky—he ranked 161st in Strokes Gained: Putting at one point in 2025—the rest of his game is too good for him to stay out of the winner's circle for long.

He recently qualified for The Open via the Australian Open, and he’s a lock for the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah. The goal for this year? Better attitude. He’s been open about his temper, working with his caddie, Manny Villegas, to stay "less upset" when things go sideways.

If he masters his own head, the rest of the Tour is in serious trouble.

Actionable Insights for Following Si Woo Kim in 2026:
Keep an eye on his "Strokes Gained: Around the Green" stats during tournament weeks; if he's in the top 10, he's almost guaranteed to be in the hunt on Sunday. For bettors or fantasy fans, he's a "horse for the course" at TPC Sawgrass and Waialae—places where precision beats raw power. Watch his body language; a calm Si Woo is dangerous, but a Si Woo who's "shushing" the crowd is unbeatable.