Cal alum Kim making strides on PGA Tour
Two years ago, Michael Kim was the consensus national player of the year at Cal. He helped the Bears win a modern-era, NCAA-record 11 tournaments, but his decision to turn pro after his sophomore season still seemed curious — he was rail-thin and didn’t hit the ball especially far.
Maybe he knew what he was doing.
Kim, 22, earned his way onto the PGA Tour by finishing 13th on the Web.com Tour money list last season. Now, in his first event as a member of the “big tour,” Kim finds himself in contention at this week’s Frys.com Open in Napa.
He shot 67 on Friday at Silverado Resort, to soar into the top 10. That left him at 6-under par for the tournament, five shots behind leader Brendan Steele.
Kim played in two PGA Tour events as an amateur in 2013, including the U.S. Open at Merion. He moved into third-round contention there, ultimately landing low-amateur honors with his tie for 17th. Kim also tied for 38th in the Greenbrier Classic.
Those experiences helped prepare him for the rookie season he’s launching at Silverado.
“I definitely feel not as starstruck as I did at Greenbrier or the Open,” Kim said. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m a tour member now, or it’s just a time thing. But I definitely feel like I belong out here more.”
Kim hits his tee shots 20 yards farther now than he did at Merion, an increase he traced to dutiful work in the weight room. He ranked 65th on the Web.com Tour in driving distance last season, at a more-than-respectable 299.2 yards. Hahn surges: Another Cal alum, James Hahn, also played well Friday. He matched the day’s best round (66) to reach the weekend at 4-under.
Hahn, who grew up in Alameda, picked up his first PGA Tour victory in Los Angeles in February. He collected only two top-20 finishes in his last 17 starts of the season, a reminder of the challenges ahead.
“I understand it’s golf and it’s very unpredictable,” Hahn said. “One week you’re on top of the world and the next week you’re irrelevant.”
Hahn, who will leave about 50 tickets for family and friends this weekend at Silverado, has learned to adapt his schedule to courses he likes. He might play every tournament on the West Coast swing in early 2016 — and hardly any on the Florida swing. Briefly: Stanford alum Patrick Rodgers will begin play Saturday at 7-under, four shots off the lead. Rodgers overcame four bogeys Friday to shoot 69. ... Justin Rose is among the players at 8-under, three strokes back. ... The only other player (aside from Hahn) to shoot 66 on Friday was Colt Knost, who also has Bay Area ties (sort of ): He won the 2007 U.S. Amateur at the Olympic Club.