One of the most in-form players on the PGA Tour this season has been Michael Kim, and for his efforts, he has now earned a place at The Masters in the tightest possible circumstances.
The American has produced three top-10 finishes so far this season, but even though he couldn’t replicate that in the Texas Children’s Houston Open, he still finished high enough up the leaderboard to sneak into the world’s top 50.
Being in the world’s top 50 after the Memorial Park Golf Course tournament ensures a Masters invite, and Kim, who began the week ranked 52nd, edged out Ben Griffin to move up the crucial two places in the world rankings and claim his invite.
Griffin finished T18 in Houston to claim 3.38505 points, with Kim earning 2.13792 for his finish of T32. However, Kim began the week one place above Griffin in the world rankings, and that proved crucial, with his haul putting him on a total of 105.59319 world ranking points – 0.5132 points ahead of Griffin by the end of play on Sunday.
So close were the two that Kim wasn’t even sure after completing his final round if he’d done enough, telling reporters: “I don't know, I truly don't know. I'm sure I'm pretty close to that right now. What's Ben Griffin at?”
He then admitted it had been on his mind throughout the day, saying: “Oh, sure I made some pretty nervy swings on the back nine there thinking about it.”
As for Griffin, he was also aware of what was at stake, saying he had thought about the prospect of making it to The Masters “just about every shot,” before adding: “It's hard, I'm focused to playing in a tournament and trying to finish as high as possible, but at the same time I know if I play really well, I know I have a good chance.”
He added: “When you have a dream as a little kid and you have a chance, there's a lot of emotions over every shot. I mean, I'm tearing up right now thinking about it. Yeah, we'll see what happens.”
Alas, it wasn’t to be, but he took the disappointment in good spirits, sending a congratulatory message to Kim on X, writing: “That was crazy. Congrats man!! You’ve been on a heck of a run.”
That was crazy. Congrats man!! You’ve been on a heck of a run.March 30, 2025
All is not quite lost for Griffin, with victory at next week’s Valero Texas Open his remaining hope of taking a last-gasp place in the field for his maiden appearance. That’s something Kim would love to see happen. He responded to Griffin with: “Go win Valero and I’ll see you there!” which drew the dry comeback of “Might as well” from Griffin, showing that he hasn’t lost his sense of humor in the aftermath of his disappointment.
Go win Valero and I’ll see you there!March 30, 2025
Might as well 😅March 30, 2025
As for Kim, he can now look forward to a second appearance at the Augusta National Major, where he will be hoping to improve on his missed cut at the 2019 edition.
