Korea’s Tom Kim used a new putter to fire a bogey-free 7-under 65 on Friday and charged into title contention at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The three-time PGA TOUR winner brilliantly hit seven birdies at famed Pebble Beach Golf Links to lie four shots back of 36-hole leader Sepp Straka, who was victorious at The American Express two weeks ago. Straka carded a 65 to lead by three from first round leader, Russell Henley (69) and Cam Davis (68) in the US$20 million Signature event.
The 22-year-old Kim debuted a new blade Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 putter this week in Monday night’s TGL match where his Jupiter Links team, led by Tiger Woods, defeated the Rory McIlroy-led Boston Commons in overtime. Kim was the star of the show after making some big putts in the innovative golf league in partnership with the PGA TOUR which fuses advanced tech and a unique team format played in an indoor arena.
“I just felt like I needed something a little bit more consistent and something that I’ve won with,” said Kim, who currently ranks fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting (+3.14) this week.
“It’s not exactly the same blade that I’ve been using, it’s a little different. But I think transitioning from the mallet — some of my lines, I started to really like a different type of line than I used to. Just kind of little adjustments. And obviously, the new face that they came out with is really nice, so it’s been working well so far.”
After making an explosive start to life on the PGA TOUR where he won twice in 2022 and once more in 2023, Kim endured a subdued campaign last season with two top-10s and finished 59th in FedExCup Fall standings. He began 2025 with an uneventful T65 at the Sony Open in Hawaii and missed the cut at The American Express.
The opportunity to play alongside his idol, Woods, in TGL was the spark Kim needed to light up his game at the second of eight Signature events. “I think TGL was really fun to play Monday, we had a really good night. It’s kind of nice just to be in a team environment and kind of let loose before going on this stretch,” said Kim.
As he chases the in-form Straka, the Korean star hopes his new putter will continue to fire on all cylinders at this week’s iconic venue. He successfully converted putts from inside of the 10-foot range during his second round, and made a lengthy 32-footer on the 10th hole.
“I haven’t really had that big of an adjustment,” he said of the switch from mallet to the blade putter.
“I’m very technical at times but I’m also very feel oriented at times. I think I do a really good balance of it. If today was 70 percent technical or 30 percent feel, tomorrow I’m definitely start to be 60 more feel and technical. It’s not really what’s heavier, it’s just per day how I feel. I feel like my awareness is pretty high where I know when to switch on and off,” he said.
Second-Round Notes – Friday, January 31, 2025
Weather: Cloudy. High of 57. Wind SSE 5-15 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph.
Second-Round Leaderboard
Pos. Player R1 R2 Total
1 Sepp Straka 65 SH 65 PB 130 (-14)
T2 Russell Henley 64 SH 69 PB 133 (-11)
T2 Cam Davis 65 PB 68 SH 133 (-11)
T4 Tony Finau 67 PB 67 SH 134 (-10)
T4 Andrew Novak 69 PB 65 SH 134 (-10)
T4 Tom Kim 69 SH 65 PB 134 (-10)
T4 Justin Rose 65 PB 69 SH 134 (-10)
T4 Austin Eckroat 67 SH 67 PB 134 (-10)
