Tom Kim aims for 3-peat as Shriners Children’s Open field set

By Greg Robertson Las Vegas Review-Journal

1 month ago

Tom Kim raises the winning trophy on final day play at the Shriners Children's Open from TPC Su ... — Tom Kim raises the winning trophy on final day play at the Shriners Children’s Open from TPC Summerlin on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Tom Kim reacts to sinking his final putt for the win at hole 18 during final day play at the Shriners Children’s Open from TPC Summerlin on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Tom Kim kisses the winning trophy on final day play at the Shriners Children’s Open from TPC Summerlin on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

When the 2024 PGA Tour regular season ended in August, Tom Kim said he wouldn’t play in any fall events to recover from the season’s long grind.

He’s making an exception.

Kim is the headliner for next week’s Shriners Children’s Open, where the 22-year-old will be trying for a three-peat at TPC Summerlin.

Kim won in 2022, then repeated in 2023 when he finished at 20 under to hold off Adam Hadwin by a shot and Eric Cole, Taylor Pendrith, J.T. Poston and Alex Noren by two. All of them, with the exception of Noren, are in next week’s field, which was finalized Friday afternoon.

Kim’s entry is not surprising, considering he vowed to return during his victory news conference in 2023.

“For sure,” he said when asked if Shriners was already penciled in on his 2024 plans. “Three-peat sounds nice.”

The Las Vegas event will feature the strongest field of the PGA Tour’s fall season to date, with 34 players ranked in the top 100 in the world, 10 players who finished the regular season in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings, and 12 golfers who have been winners on tour this season.

There is a strong Las Vegas flavor to the entry list, including sponsor exemptions for UNLV senior Caden Fioroni, who will be making his PGA Tour debut, and Erik Matthewson, a PGA pro at Shadow Creek.

Other local players in the field include Joseph Bramlett, Doug Ghim, Harry Hall, Rico Hoey, Kurt Kitayama, David Lipsky, Maverick McNealy, Taylor Montgomery, Ryan Moore, Scott Piercy, Seamus Power and Justin Suh. Norman Xiong is the first alternate. Former UNLV standouts Charley Hoffman and Garrick Higgo will also tee it up.

Other entries include fan favorites Rickie Fowler, Joel Dahmen and former U.S. Open champions Gary Woodland and Webb Simpson. Michael Thorbjornsen, the nation’s top-ranked amateur who turned pro after leaving Stanford this summer, is also in the field as he closes in on his 2025 PGA Tour playing card.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.