The private jet travel, and the entourage that includes an instructor, a trainer and sometimes a chef, is a common denominator among the top players in professional golf. Rory McIlroy, for example, wasn’t traveling to the Genesis Invitational this week sitting in an aisle seat on a commercial flight.
But many in the fields from week to week on the PGA Tour do exactly that.
They fret about airline reservations and hotel accommodations and how to manage their funds throughout a year of ups and downs.
It’s one of the reasons why Michael Kim has become a popular social media follow as he plays a robust schedule on the PGA Tour and tries to share insights that the rest of the world might not otherwise see.
Late last year, Kim, 31, disclosed on X (formerly Twitter) that he spent more than $92,000 on flights and hotels across a 30-tournament PGA Tour schedule, while having made more than $1.4 million in official prize money in 2024.
He’s highlighted travel delays, airport sleepovers, equipment changes and practice routines.
“I feel like I’ve used it in a good way,” Kim said at Torrey Pines, where he is playing his hometown event, having attended nearby Torrey Pines High School. “My sponsors really like it. I used to be mistaken for other players so it’s cool to see a few people here and there recognize me.”
Thoughts from WM (a bit long ⚠️)
— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) February 10, 2025
-Really proud of the way I played this week. My game didn’t feel amazing after the first day but scrapped it around. Figured it out as the week went along and couldn’t be happier with how I handled the mental side of playing in contention in the… pic.twitter.com/ofC6DQzb4L
Kim is friends with former Cal teammate Max Homa, who built a solid social media following by sharing various aspects of his life and also hilariously mocking people’s golf swings.
Golf lessons have proved popular for Kim, too.
“The swing video lessons that I do have turned out well,” said Kim, who is on the leaderboard at the Genesis Invitational after finishing tied for second last week at the WM Phoenix Open. “People definitely like random stuff, too. Or the logistical stuff. They liked me going deeper into club deals, the corporate deals, the things that the average guy doesn’t know. Anything real inside the ropes everyone seems to really appreciate.”
They also were complimentary of his recent play. His golf last weekend at TPC Scottsdale saw him in contention over the weekend and playing alongside Jordan Spieth. With four rounds in the 60s, including a second-round 63, Kim earned enough FedEx Cup points to qualify for his first Signature event since 2023.
The Signature events invite the top 50 from the previous year’s FedEx Cup points list, along with 10 players from the current FedEx Cup standings and another five from a mini points list leading into the event. That is how Kim qualified. And having missed the cut here three weeks ago with a pair of 77s, he was happy to get another opportunity at Torrey Pines, host of this week’s Genesis Invitational after the event was relocated from Riviera Country Club due to the wildfires which impacted the Los Angeles area.
Kim is currently at 1-under-par through two rounds at the Genesis, trailing leader Davis Thompson by seven shots. Scottie Scheffler is one shot back at 7-under after Friday.
Kim’s lone Tour victory came at the 2018 John Deere Classic and he’s gone through the various struggles associated with Tour life in the intervening years. He lost his PGA Tour card in '21, forcing him to return to the Korn Ferry Tour and find his way back.
For the 2022–23 season, he finished with four top-10s, eight top-25s and ended up 84th on the FedEx Cup points list.
Last year, when the PGA Tour announced that it would be going to a more streamlined field in 2026—going from 125 exempt spots to just 100—Kim noted honestly that the change might be better for the Tour but not necessarily him.
At the time, he was flirting with falling out of the top 125, before a tie for fifth at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas gave him some breathing room. He ended up 117th, closing the year with two top-10s and 10 top-25 finishes.
And that is what made last week’s result so important. After missing two cuts in his first four starts in 2025, the 245 points he earned for tying for second at TPC Scottsdale vaulted him to 27th in the early-season standings.
There’s a long way to go but it gave him some breathing room.
“That’s true and it was nice I got a lot of nice reaction,” Kim said. “But everybody is playing a lot more tournaments. It’s obviously a very nice start and something I can build on. But I’m trying to not think about it too much. I don’t want to be too complacent.
“The top 100 is great but I want to get into the top 50 and [be] qualifying for the [2026] Signature events. I’ve played a big schedule every year so it won’t be a big change for me.”
That’s good for the golf fans who follow Kim, who will have plenty of more inside-the-ropes insights to offer.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Michael Kim Is Staying Sincere on Social Media While Vying for Signature Event Status.
