Hong Kong, China: Tom Kim’s aim is to simply ‘go out there and win’ when one of golf’s hottest young talents joins a stellar field at the LINK Hong Kong Open.

The LINK Hong Kong Open, labelled ‘Asia’s Major’ by golf legend Gary Player, will mark its 63rd edition from November 21-24 at the Hong Kong Golf Club, joining only the Masters at Augusta National as golf championships to be held at the same venue for over six decades.

At just 22, Seoul-born Kim has already claimed two Asian Tour titles, along with three on the PGA Tour – becoming the youngest player since Tiger Woods to achieve that feat.

There has also been a tied second at The Open Championship and a tied eighth at the US Open last year, while last weekend Kim came close to a breakthrough victory on the DP World Tour when he finished second via a play-off in the Genesis Championship in Incheon, Korea.

Kim will arrive in Hong Kong with his game in tip-top shape and his mind fully focused on turning it on for fans in the city that his family called home when he was a toddler.

“When I step up to a tournament, my mindset doesn’t change,” said Kim, the world’s 25th-ranked player. “I’m going to prep the best I can for that week and I’m going to try to win. I’m super excited to go back to Hong Kong because I’ll have family there, I’ll have my friends there. It’s going to be great.”

It’s been 26 years since a Korean lifted the LINK Hong Kong Open trophy – when Kang Wook-soon won the tournament by two strokes from England’s Ed Fryatt.

“That motivates me a lot more,” said Kim, the Asian Tour’s 2020-21-22 Order of Merit winner who last played the LINK Hong Kong Open in 2020.

“As a 17-year-old, I kind of got hot-headed and finished 18th. But I remember the course being in really good shape. It’s such a ball-striking golf course. It suits me really well. There’s some par-threes where distance control is crucial and you have to be on the right spots on certain holes because it’s such an old-style golf course. 

“You have to hit a lot of fairways as it’s a very tree-lined golf course. Ball-striking is always going to win out there.”

Kim’s journey in golf is already inspiring the next generation of players across Asia. Born in Seoul, he took his game to the Philippine Golf Tour, before emerging via the Asian Development Tour, taking the Asian Tour by storm in 2019 – at age 17 – when he won the Panasonic Open India.

“It’s funny because I think a lot of people think when I got to the PGA Tour I came out of nowhere and I was an overnight success. But it really wasn’t all that,” said Kim.

“It was a five-year process to get there. If I hadn’t gone through the Asian Development Tour I don’t think I would be the player I am today. I was able to test the waters before I got to the main Tours. Once I got to the main Tour I was prepared to go out and play and I was excited instead of feeling pressure.”

Ever since, Kim’s star has continued to rise, helped by a show-stealing performance in the Netflix series Full Swing, one that saw the young Korean share his life-long obsession with the cartoon and children’s book favourite Thomas the Tank Engine (hence his chosen English name of ‘Tom’).

Kim said: “[Full Swing] was a really good opportunity to share who I am. Because I’m from Asia, I know what it’s like to dream and I know how far away things can feel. I want people to know it’s actually not that far away. What I want to tell them is that if I can do it, literally anyone can do it.”

Kim will join a star-stacked line up for the US$2 million tournament at Fanling as the city’s longest-running professional sporting event helps the historic Hong Kong Golf Club – a Facility Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation – celebrate its 135th anniversary.

England’s Justin Rose – a winner here in 2015, to go with his Olympic gold (2016) and the US Open (2013) – and New Zealand’s Ben Campbell will both be returning. Campbell carved his name into local folklore with his dramatic one-stroke victory over Australian Cameron Smith and Thai Phachara Khongwatmai last year.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong history-maker Taichi Kho will again be looking to thrill local fans as he returns to the scene of his famous victory at the World City Championship last March – the first win on the Asian Tour by a local player.

For the second straight year, the LINK Hong Kong Open is part of The International Series, 10 events over the course of the season which offer elevated prize funds and a pathway to the LIV Golf League.  

In 2023, the Hong Kong Open was named The International Series Tournament of the Year and a Players’ Choice winner for Course of the Year.

The leading points-scorer in The International Series Rankings receives exemption into the following season’s LIV Golf League. Held throughout the year across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, The International Series contributes US$23.5 million to the Asian Tour’s 2024 total prize fund this season.

Admission to the opening rounds on Thursday and Friday (November 21-22), is free for the public. Daily prices for Saturday and Sunday (November 23-24) are HK$200 per day or HK$300 for a weekend pass.