Are Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim Related?

Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim are two South Korean professional golfers who play on the PGA Tour, who both reside in Dallas, Texas, and who carry the same family name. No official source, no PGA Tour biography, no record from a Korean golf governing body, no major press account, has identified a family connection between them.

Two South Koreans, One Very Common Surname

Tom Kim, whose full name is Joohyung Kim, was born in Seoul on June 21, 2002, and turned professional in 2018. His official PGA Tour profile lists the Republic of Korea as his country and Dallas, Texas, as his residence. Before the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open, he held three confirmed PGA Tour victories: the 2022 Wyndham Championship, the 2022 Shriners Children's Open, and the 2023 Shriners Children's Open. That second Shriners win, at 21 years old, made him the youngest three-time PGA Tour winner since Tiger Woods in 1997.

Si Woo Kim was born in Seoul in 1995, turned professional in 2012, and has accumulated four PGA Tour victories. His official PGA Tour profile also lists Dallas as his residence and the Republic of Korea as his country.

The two share a nationality, a family name, and a city of residence. None of that establishes kinship. Kim is the most common family name in South Korea, roughly one in five of the country's population carries it, according to census data. Several prominent South Korean golfers on tour have surnames other than Kim: Sungjae Im and K.H. Lee are two examples. Within those who do carry the name, no official record locates Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim on the same family tree.

Tom Kim's Road to His Fourth PGA Tour Win

Tom Kim's ascent was rapid. He arrived on the PGA Tour at 20 with a final-round 61 to win the 2022 Wyndham Championship, a tournament he had opened with a quadruple-bogey eight. About two months later, he won the Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas, becoming the first player since Tiger Woods in 1996 to win twice on the PGA Tour before turning 21.

His 2025 season was a stark contrast. He managed just three top-25 finishes across 26 starts and fell to 141st in the world rankings, down from a career high of 11th. His ball-striking numbers declined sharply, and he missed the Masters and PGA Championship, snapping a run of 15 consecutive major starts.

His 2026 form began showing a turnaround. He qualified for the U.S. Open through final qualifying in Dallas, then finished solo third at Shinnecock Hills on his 24th birthday, shooting a final-round 70 behind champion Wyndham Clark. A tied-second finish at the 2023 Open Championship remained his previous career-best major result.

At the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Kim shared the halfway lead at nine-under with Rory McIlroy and Jordan Smith. A third-round 68, which included a three-putt bogey that cost him a share of the 54-hole lead, left him one shot behind the three-way leaders, Matt Fitzpatrick, Min Woo Lee, and Robert MacIntyre, going into Sunday's final round. He then won the tournament, as confirmed by the DP World Tour, in what was described as a back-nine surge that gave him his first DP World Tour title and his fourth PGA Tour win. Si Woo Kim finished the same event seven-under through 54 holes and remained in contention during the final round.

The Kim Name on Tour

The volume of South Korean golfers with the surname Kim is a straightforward product of how prevalent the name is in Korea, not evidence of any connected family. Several players with the surname have competed at tour level simultaneously for years. That Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim are both based in Dallas reflects the city's draw for international golfers, it is home to several Korean-American golf communities and training facilities, rather than any shared household.

Si Woo Kim's four PGA Tour wins span more than a decade of professional golf. He and Tom Kim were born seven years apart and developed through entirely separate pathways, Si Woo through the Korean Tour and DP World Tour from 2012, Tom Kim through the Asian Development Tour and Asian Tour from 2018.

Both players qualified for the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, beginning July 16. The Open's qualification tracker shows Tom Kim earned entry through his standing in the Official World Golf Ranking, while Si Woo Kim qualified through the OQS Australia event. Royal Birkdale hosts the championship for the 11th time, Jordan Spieth won the last Open there in 2017, finishing at 12-under with a total of 268, three strokes clear of Matt Kuchar.

Tom Kim has never finished outside the top 25 in any of his five Scottish Open starts, with his previous best being solo third in 2022, his first exposure to links golf. His 2026 win at the same course extended that record.

What the Records Say

No player interview, no PGA Tour biography, no Korean Golf Association statement, and no contemporaneous press account has identified a family connection between Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim. The defensible position, based on every record examined, is that no verified family relationship exists.

Tom Kim heads to Royal Birkdale as a four-time PGA Tour winner, with his Scottish Open title fresh in his hands and a first Open Championship still the prize he most wants.