Michael Kim Facts: 10 Things To Know About The PGA Tour Pro

Michael Kim had a successful college career before building a solid reputation in the professional game - here are 10 things you may not know about him

Michael Kim takes a shot at the WM Phoenix Open
Michael Kim turned professional in 2013
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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Michael Kim had a successful college career before turning pro in 2013, and in the years since he has established himself on the PGA Tour.

Here are 10 things to know about the American.

Michael Kim Facts

1. Michael Kim was born on 14 July 1993 in Seoul, South Korea, but raised in San Diego.

2. After attending Torrey Pines High School, he went on to the University of California, Berkeley, where he played college golf and was a teammate of Max Homa.

3. In 2013, he became the first Cal golfer to win the Haskins Award, given to the best collegiate golfer and the Jack Nicklaus Award as the NCAA Division I player of the year.

4. The same year, Kim finished T17 at the US Open at Merion to take low amateur honors.

5. Kim turned professional at the end of 2013, beginning on the Web.com Tour. After finishing 13th on its money list in 2015, earned PGA Tour status for the 2016 season.

6. His first PGA Tour title came in the 2018 John Deere Classic, where he set the tournament scoring record, finishing on 27-under to win by eight shots.

Michael Kim with the 2018 John Deere Classic trophy

Michael Kim's one PGA Tour win came in the 2018 John Deere Classic

(Image credit: Getty Images)

7. In 2019, he suffered a dramatic loss of form, missing the cut in 19 of her in 20 events on the PGA Tour. He lost his card the year after before regaining it for the 2022/23 season.

8. If he wasn’t a professional golfer, Kim would like to be an ESPN golf analyst.

9. His favorite non-golf athletes Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Aaron Rodgers.

10. In 2024, Kim, who has a large social media following, where he frequently posts insights about the game, created headlines when he revealed he had spent over $92,000 over the season and traveled over 40,000 miles.

Michael Kim Bio

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Born

Seoul, South Korea - 14 July 14 1993

Height

5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)

College

University of California, Berkeley

Turned Pro

2013

Former Tour

Korn Ferry Tour

Current Tour

PGA Tour

Pro Wins

1

Highest OWGR

80

Michael Kim Professional Wins

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Tour

Event

Score

PGA Tour

2018 John Deere Classic

-27 (eight shots)

Michael Kim PGA Tour Earnings

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Year

Earnings

2016/17

$664,539

2017/18

$1,379,736

2018/19

$104,936

2021/22

$132,613

2022/23

$2,206,882

2024

$1,484,233

Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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