Chan Kim: Breakout Golfers to Watch in 2024
Welcome to “Breakout Golfers to Watch,” our miniseries showcasing some of the hottest up-and-coming talent in golf. From Ludvig Aberg to Rose Zhang, it’s always entertaining to be in the know about “who’s next.” PGA Tour rookie Chan Kim is the second player on our watch list for 2024, following Gabriela Ruffels.
Chan Kim
Age: 33
Hometown: Born in Suwon, South Korea; resides in Gilbert, Ariz.
College: Arizona State University
Notable Accomplishments: Eight wins on the Japan Golf Tour, back-to-back Korn Ferry Tour victories in 2023
Why He’s a 2024 Breakout Candidate: You might be wondering—do we really think a 33-year-old rookie is going to make a splash on the PGA Tour this year? The answer is yes. Because if you take a look at Kim’s history as a globetrotting golf journeyman, you’ll quickly realize he’s not your average PGA Tour rookie.
Kim earned his PGA Tour card for 2024 by finishing second in the season-long Korn Ferry Tour standings behind Ben Kohles, with back-to-back victories on the developmental circuit sealing the deal. But his path to KFT graduation wasn’t so straightforward. Kim has literally played golf all over the world, experiencing career-defining setbacks and successes along the way.
After playing just one season at ASU, Kim decided to turn professional. First, in 2011, Kim qualified for the Canadian Tour. Then he played stints on the Challenge Tour (Europe’s version of the Korn Ferry Tour) and the Asian Tour in 2013 and 2014. Finally, in 2015, Kim settled on the Japan Golf Tour as his home circuit, while maintaining residency in Gilbert, Ariz.—where his still lives. (Fun fact: Before joining Superstition Mountain in Arizona, Kim would practice for pro events at a local public golf course called Kokopelli Golf Club.)
Kim, 33, won back-to-back Korn Ferry Tour events last season.
Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
Since 2015, Kim has won an impressive eight times in Japan, despite taking off a full year of play in 2018 due to a back injury. He bounced back with a victory at the 2019 Japan Open. His most recent win in Japan came at the Casio World Open in 2022.
Kim was making a comfortable living on the Japan Tour, but the extended travel stays were taxing and the Official World Golf Rankings altered its strokes-gained ratings to the tour's detriment. A direct pathway from the Japan Tour to the PGA Tour didn’t seem likely, so in 2022 Kim decided to take a risk and give Q-School a shot. “I knew this would be the fastest route to the PGA Tour, so I knew I had to make a sacrifice in order to give myself a chance,” he said.
A strong Q-School performance gave Kim exempt status on the KFT, and he took full advantage of it. He won the Magnit Championship and Albertsons Boise Open in consecutive weeks this summer and locked up his PGA Tour card with three events still to play in the KFT season.
“I’ve hit rock bottom a few times, but I’ve always managed to climb back out,” Kim said.
That's exactly the mentality that will carry Kim on Tour in 2024, and his lighthearted and goofy personality won’t hurt either. Check out this hilarious social media bit, in which Kim interviews his fellow Korn Ferry Tour graduates. In addition to a player to watch in 2024, Kim is also our pick to be the next fan favorite on the PGA Tour.
In 2023, we named Alexa Pano, Sahith Theegala, Chris Gotterup, Justin Suh and Cameron Young as names to keep an eye out for. Pano and Theegala clinched their first professional victories, Gotterup earned his 2024 PGA Tour card, Suh climbed into the top 70 in the world and Young posted five top-10s on Tour. Stay tuned to see how our 2024 picks perform in the new year.