The PGA TOUR announced today that Joohyung “Tom” Kim has accepted Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Season. A native of South Korea, Kim is now eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season as he attempts to earn his PGA TOUR card for the 2022-23 season.
“I’ve worked really hard to get to this point, and now I have more work ahead of me to earn full PGA TOUR status for 2023,” said Kim, who received a sponsor exemption for this week’s 3M Open.
“It has always been a dream of mine to play the PGA TOUR and I am very grateful to 3M for giving me this opportunity to compete.”
Currently No. 40 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Kim has made six starts on the PGA TOUR this season, highlighted by a third-place finish at the Genesis Scottish Open. He recorded additional top-25s at the AT&T Byron Nelson (T17) and U.S. Open (23rd).
Kim crossed the threshold for Special Temporary Membership with a tie for 47th at last week’s Open Championship, accumulating as many or more points through the non-member FedExCup points list this season as No. 150 on the 2020-21 FedExCup standings (287).
To earn full status on the PGA TOUR for the 2022-23 season, Kim must earn as many or more non-member FedExCup points as the final eligible player from the 2021-22 FedExCup standings to qualify for the 2022 FedExCup Playoffs. Kim currently has 296 points, and for reference, that would fall between Nos. 131 and 132 in the current FedExCup standings.
Kim, 20, is the youngest player to join the TOUR as a Special Temporary Member since Joaquin Niemann did so as a 19-year-old during the 2017-18 season. He has seven international victories to date, collecting two victories each on the Korean Tour and Asian Tour and three on the Asian Development Tour.
He led the Genesis points list on the Korean Tour and won the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2021. Kim has posted nine top-five finishes in his last 18 worldwide starts, including a win at the 2022 Singapore International, and has moved from No. 152 to No. 40 in the Official World Golf Ranking in that span.
Special Temporary Members are not eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs, however, Special Temporary Members or non-members who subsequently become regular PGA TOUR members by winning an official event during the season will be counted on the FedExCup points list, along with any FedExCup points earned as a non-member (excluding those won at World Golf Championships events, the Barbasol Championship and the Barracuda Championship as a non-member) and thus be eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs.
