Golf's newest bromance may be the key to unlocking Tom Kim’s fullest potential

Korean golf legend K.J. Choi once coined a phrase that would become his life’s mantra and drive other dreamers from his native country and across Asia to follow his trail in search of sporting greatness.

“To be the best, you’ve got to play with the best” was the buzz line that spurred Choi into the unknown, where he arrived in America over two decades ago to chase a PGA Tour card and subsequently won eight titles and $32 million in prize earnings.

Y.E. Yang followed closely in Choi’s brazen footsteps and snared Asia’s first major title in 2009, and many other Koreans would follow — Sung Kang, Sang Moon Bae, Byeong Hun An, Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim and K.H. Lee. Along with the likes of Japanese stars Shigeki Maruyama and Hideki Matsuyama, Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan and Carl Yuan of China, Asia’s glory-hunters understood the necessity of going toe-to-toe with the best, while pushing their own limits and boundaries.

Now, Tom Kim, a 22-year-old rising star, is embarking on a slightly different pathway in his dream to become the world’s best golfer, and it is thanks to a growing bromance with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. 

Not only is Kim battling week in and week out on the toughest professional golf circuit, he practices regularly with Scheffler, gets to pick the brain of the current dominant golfer, and hangs out with the likeable American as they live four minutes apart in Dallas.

They also share the same birthdate of June 21 — Kim turned 22 while Scheffler celebrated his 28th birthday last month — and hold the same Christian faith which have forged their friendship. Scheffler’s wife Meredith is also teaching their new-born son to address Kim as “Uncle Tom”.

“It's been big. He's a really good friend,” said Kim, who is already a three-time PGA Tour winner. “I've learned a lot from him, obviously not just by watching him but by asking him a lot of things and he's been so kind to be able to share some stuff. Being as good as he is, I always want to pick his brain. I talk to him a lot about the mental aspects, about how he approaches the game more than the skill aspect. I’ve gotten to like Scottie more as a person than a golfer. He's one of the few people that when