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02 Apr, 2025
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PGA Tour Fan Favorite Rides Cracked Driver into Surprising Masters Berth
@Source: newsweek.com
Michael Kim's social media feed is a treasure trove of unfiltered opinions and candid insights. The PGA Tour pro has never shied away from speaking his mind. And guess what?He did it again. But this time, to share his excitement about qualifying for the Masters with the help of a cracked driver. Yes, you read that right!For Kim, qualifying for the Masters was of top priority. "The tournament that every kid has dreamed of playing, and I'm glad to be making my 2nd appearance and playing much better than last time," he exclaimed after grabbing the Augusta National spot.But what's truly remarkable is the journey he took to get there. The 31-year-old Kim had been grinding non-stop, playing every PGA Tour week since the WM Phoenix Open - that's 8 straight weeks of intense competition.He finished T13 or better in 6 of those events, including a T2 finish in Phoenix and a fourth-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Interestingly, his hard work paid off finally on Sunday as the 31-year-old shot 17 birdies with a driving accuracy of 51.9% at Memorial Park.The professional was lingering beyond the 150th Official World Golf Ranking two months ago. He entered the Texas event while securing the 52nd rank. Shockingly, it was ultimately his cracked head Titleist GT2 driver that pushed his name to the top 50."I made some pretty nervy swings on the back nine there thinking about it," Kim recalled after his round. "My driver cracked on, I don't know exactly what hole, but it was cracked and I was trying to get a replacement on 18, but the rules official took too long for it, so I just hit it anyway," he added.However, Kim's qualification was also influenced by Ben Griffin's missed birdie putt at the penultimate hole. Griffin's misfortune became Kim's gain, as their final ranks would have been switched if Griffin had sunk that crucial putt.On Monday, Kim took to social media to share his thoughts on the dramatic finale. "I was pretty nervous coming down the stretch and made some bad swings. It didn't help that I was playing with a very small crack on my driver that I saw on Sunday."He added, "Not sure how much difference that crack made tbh (to be honest). Time to find an even better one haha." He also revealed about his struggles with driver sharing, "My 4i was cracked on Thursday, and Titleist had to ship me one.""Didn't use the new one until Saturday. It was really hard to see and wouldn't know unless you focused on it. It was hidden among one of the grooves."Shockingly, it's not just the 31-year-old who struggled with the Titleist drivers. World No. 2, Rory McIlroy, also faced similar issues.McIlroy's problems were so severe that he had to Uber his Qi10 driver from his Jupiter, Florida home to Orlando during the third round at the Arnold Palmer event at Bay Hill, at a staggering cost of around $1,000.Despite these setbacks, both McIlroy and Kim are poised to make a strong showing at the Masters, with their driver woes seemingly behind them.More Golf: Rory McIlroy Reveals What Needs to be 'Figured Out' Ahead of the Masters
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