Tom Kim was forced to withdraw from the Players Championship on Thursday due to illness. The PGA Tour made the announcement as Round 1 was underway at TPC Sawgrass. No other details were provided.
Kim was eight holes through his opening round when he exited the tournament. He shot five-over par through the first eight holes, including a triple-bogey six at the famed No. 17 “Island Green” hole (Kim's group started their excursion around the Stadium Course on No. 10). He also bogeyed par-4 10th and par-3 13th.
Kim was making his second career appearance at The Players, having finished T31 in his Sawgrass debut in 2023.
The 21-year-old Kim is one of the PGA Tour's brightest young stars. He's already won three times in his career — at the Shriners Children's Open (2022, 2023) and the 2022 Wyndham Championship.
Kim entered the 50th edition of the Players Championship ranked No. 18 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He's had a disappointing start to the 2024 season, with only two top-25 results in seven starts.
So far, his Florida swing has consisted of a T62 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, a T52 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and now a WD at The Players Championship. (Ahead of Season 2 of Netflix's Full Swing, Kim explained to ClutchPoints why TPC Sawgrass, along with Augusta National, has his favorite locker rooms on the PGA Tour.)
Kim was playing with Nick Taylor and Justin Rose. Taylor was five-under for his opening round at the time of this post, while Rose was two-under par. In general, it was a low-scoring morning in Ponte Vedra Beach, headlined by Rory McIlroy, who was seven under through his first 13 holes.
The PGA Tour's Florida swing culminates with the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort next week. Kim is not in the field for the event. The Masters begins on April 11.
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