Second Consecutive Appearance at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson
From 177.8 cm Last Year to 182.9 cm This Year
"Longer Drives and a Stronger Mental Game"
Chris Kim, born in 2007 in England, has "grown."
At the press conference for the PGA Tour's CJ Cup Byron Nelson (total prize money of $9.9 million), held on April 29 (local time) at TPC Craig Ranch (par 71, 7,569 yards) near Dallas, Texas, Chris Kim said with a smile, "My height increased from 5 feet 10 inches (about 177.8 cm) last year to 6 feet (about 182.9 cm) this year. I grew about 5 cm," adding, "I also hit the ball much farther now."
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Chris Kim is sponsored by the Korean company CJ. His Korean name is Kim Donghan. Following in the footsteps of his mother, Seo Jihyun, a former professional golfer, he is developing as a golfer. He won the 2023 R&A Boys Amateur Championship and represented Europe at the Junior Ryder Cup. Last year, Chris Kim set the record as the youngest player to make the cut at this tournament (16 years and 7 months), surpassing the previous record set by former world No. 1 Jordan Spieth (USA) in 2010 by three months.
Invited as a player for the second consecutive year, Chris Kim shared his outlook for this year, saying, "The greens are fast. The rough is also much thicker," and added, "It will definitely play a little tougher than last year because of the wind and the weather. It will be much more difficult than last year." He continued, "I haven't set any goals yet. I just want to play well and see what happens," and emphasized, "I don't like to set too many high goals before the tournament. I just want to focus on playing good golf."
Chris Kim cited his mentality as the area where he has improved the most compared to last year. "Mentally, I feel a little stronger than last year. I have also become physically stronger," he explained. He named world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) as his idol. "I haven't had a chance to greet him yet. He was in the middle of a practice round, so I didn't want to interrupt. Scheffler is a huge idol for me, and just watching him is inspiring."
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