Bromance
British Open 2024: Find someone who looks at you the way Tom Kim looks at Tiger Woods
It’s tough to imagine two PGA Tour pros with more different demeanors than Tiger Woods and Tom Kim. At Woods’ peak, he was a cold-blooded killer. Laser-focused, intimidating, as much myth as man. Kim, on the other hand, has been affable and approachable from the start, rarely seen without a smile on his face, whether winning tournaments or splitting his pants. They’re about the oddest buddy-cop duo since Riggs and Murtaugh, but on Wednesday they were seen laughing it up like two old chums during an unlikely practice round pair-up at Royal Troon. Check it out.
RELATED: PGA Tour pro shares the badass flex Tiger Woods once made to get past British Open security
Woods has softened with age. He wouldn’t have been caught dead yucking it up with competitor during a major week a decade ago, but time has a way of mellowing more than just whiskey. There was plenty of appeal in Woods’ larger-than-life presence back in the day, but his newfound “Big Dog” persona is endearing in its own way.
Perhaps the coolest part of Tiger and Tom’s practice round, however, is the fact that the pair go way back … sort of. In 2023, Kim told the story of the first time he “met” Woods, saying, “He [Woods] came for the Australian — one of the tournaments, and he was walking to the bathroom … I had my TW cap on and it was so big because I had a small head at that time and it didn't fit. But he was walking literally 3 feet in front of me and I shouted, ‘Go, Tiger!’ and he tipped the cap and went in the bathroom.”
A lot has changed since then—Kim’s hats fit better now, for one—but it’s good to see the pairs’ paths crossing once again.