A year to remember for Asian golfers

There was also the raw emotion on full display at the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club where Kim, who at 15th is the highest ranked Asian in the world now, stood out as the brightest among the stars on parade where he produced an array of clutch shots matched by fist-pumping and cap throwing celebrations that breathed life into the International Team. His captain, Trevor Immelman hailed Kim as "a tremendous gift to our sport."

The past 12 months has no doubt been a whirlwind for the boy whose English name was derived from Thomas the Tank Engine, a children's book and cartoon character which he adored as a kid. "I mean, I'm playing on the PGA Tour as a 20-year-old. I'm a five-year-old at Disneyland for sure," said Kim.

The Korean juggernaut also saw the likes of Im Sung-jae, K.H. Lee and Kim Si-woo joining in the show, with smooth-swinging Im coming agonizingly close to becoming the first Asian to lift the PGA Tour's ultimate prize, the FedExCup. At the season-ending Tour Championship, the 24-year-old finished tied second behind winner Rory McIlroy to post the best ever finish by an Asian golfer.

With eight other top-10s including three runner-up finishes, Im was richly rewarded with a bountiful $5.5 million to raise his career haul to $17 million since bursting onto the PGA Tour in 2019. He also held his first ever lead at a major en route to finishing T8 at the Masters Tournament for his second top-10 at Augusta National in three years. To cap his year, Im also tied the knot in December.