SHRINERS CHILDREN'S OPEN

October 20, 2024

Michael Kim

TPC Summerlin

Quick Quotes

Q. Michael, besides everything, what was working for you today?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, golf is a funny game. I felt better off the tee yesterday; just couldn't get the putts to go in.

Today I was able to get some putts to go in. I had a couple fortunate breaks to come in, and happy to finish the way I did.

Q. I noticed your run in there to get the read after Bud Cauley's putt on 18. That was very close there. So close to shooting your career low 61.

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, Bud and Greyson gave me a read. I guess I couldn't do anything with it. Must have kicked a little left coming in, but still happy with the round for sure.

Q. At what point during the round did you realize it had the potential to be really special? Still a special round, but be really special and post a number.

MICHAEL KIM: I think I bogeyed 11. Kind of a sloppy bogey. But then to make a birdie on 12 right after, and then as soon as I hit a really good tee shot on 13 felt like I could get on a run and was able to do so.

Q. Final thing: There is always something to play for on the PGA TOUR. Are a lot of important FedExCup points for you today, wasn't it?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah. Trying to get inside that 125, it's huge. Trying to lock up my playing privileges for next year, The PLAYERS and all that.

So a good relief, but also know I still have to keep playing well in the next two or three events.

Q. Good work out there today, obviously tying the career low round for you on TOUR. Just take us through your day.

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, you know, coming in I knew I needed a good round to have a good finish, and started the day with a really nice birdie on 3.

You know, I struggled with my putter yesterday and to kind of roll a mid-sized putt to kind of get things going was really nice.

Q. Speaking of getting things going, started this tournament at 129 in the FedExCup fall standings. If results hold here that will bring you inside the top 100, a lot safer than that 125 cut line. Knowing that, how does that make you feel about today?

MICHAEL KIM: I mean, it's awesome. It's not a huge monkey off my back, but a decent sized one. I knew these next -- including this one, these next few events would be huge for keeping my card for next year.

To be able to pull off a round like I did today is a huge boost of confidence for the upcoming tournaments.

Q. Feeling a bit more secure in your status now, do your goals or mindset change as you move forward?

MICHAEL KIM: I don't know. I'll still have to see. There is still a lot of players left, a lot of birdies to be had out there. We'll see how I feel after the day ends.

But, you know, still just got to make as many points as you possibly can.

Q. What do you do after a round like this to mentally hold on to the feeling you had out there, the momentum, and just maybe not shoot 62 every day, as much as you would like to, but have that mentality where you are just getting the most out of yourself?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, I have a nice two-week break coming up. Be talking with my coach Sean Foley to see if he saw some swings on TV. We'll talk about it, what he liked and didn't like, and have a good session before I leave for Mexico.

Q. And just lastly, obviously JT and Doug still out there; a lot of golf left to play. What's the rest of afternoon look like for you? Are you going to try to stay loose? What's the game plan?

MICHAEL KIM: I'm going to go catch a flight to Dallas in three hours. Yeah, three hours. They're too good of players to think about coming back to me. Their winning score is going to be at least 21, maybe 22.