This golfer is joining the PGA tour — after playing only 30 rounds of real golf

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This golfer is joining the PGA tour — after playing only 30 rounds of real golf

Published: 09 Jul. 2025, 16:42 Updated: 09 Jul. 2025, 18:27

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Kim Hong-taek poses with the Baeksang Holdings-Asiad CC Busan Open trophy in Busan on June 8. [KPGA]

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Kim Hong-taek, who learned to play golf mainly through a screen, will make his PGA Tour debut at the PGA and DP World Tour co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open in Scotland on Thursday.

Kim joins the field after competing in two DP — considered the second most prestigious golf tour after the PGA — events.

“This one is different,” Kim said. “It’s a big-scale event held in Scotland, the birthplace of golf. It feels more like a major.”

While a PGA Tour debut is meaningful for any golfer, it carries special weight for Kim. Before turning pro, he had played only about 30 rounds of actual golf.

His father, Kim Sung-geun, said that limited access to courses made traditional practice difficult.

“When you go to a golf course, you might hit only 30 or so balls all day,” he said. “Screen golf, which is like a launch monitor, was actually more efficient.”

But the younger Kim trained relentlessly.

“I put a heavy box on the foot pedal of the old manual ball machine at the range,” he said. “That way, balls would come out automatically and I could keep swinging like a machine.

“When I’m nervous, I can just swing without thinking, and the motion comes out like muscle memory.”

Kim Hong-taek is sprayed with water after winning the Baeksang Holdings-Asiad CC Busan Open in Busan on June 8. [KPGA]

From those machinelike days at the driving range, Kim now finds himself on a wind-swept Scottish links course preparing to compete alongside some of the world’s top players, including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele.

Kim ranks among the best off the tee on the KPGA Tour and has led in greens in regulation three times in the past five years, with two second-place finishes as well.

But his short game — particularly putting — remains his weak point, likely due to his limited early-round experience on grass.

Kim still does not regret his unconventional path.

“There’s no guarantee that I would’ve done better in a better environment,” he said. “I made the best choice given my circumstances.”

He also noted that he used prize money from the G Tour, a screen golf competition, to fund his top-tier tour appearances and develop his mentality.

Kim and his wife converted a room in their home into a putting studio two years ago, installing a 2-yards green with adjustable slope.

His putting has since shown signs of improvement. He recently began upgrading the setup.

“I’m building a 10-meter putting green in a 60-pyeong [2,100-square-foot] warehouse,” he said. “It’ll cost money, but I’ll just have to make more birdies.”

Kim continues to dream bigger.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SUNG HO-JUN [[email protected]]