Michael Kim aims to "improve on" his finish from 12 years ago after gaining exemption into 119-year-old Major championship

Michael Kim is having a terrific year, and as a result, he's played his way into the US Open next month. The golfer has risen up the OWGR leaderboard and into the field by automatic qualification, which is a first for the player.

The top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking make it into the field for the 119-year-old tournament, and Kim is well within that range. In 2025, he has three top-10 finishes this year, and it's vaulted him up the leaderboard from 155th at the end of 2024 to 55th right now.

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Kim said on X:

"First time I won’t partake in the 36 hole sectional qualifying. My best finish at a major is at the 2013 US open as an amateur funny enough. Let’s improve on that!"

Kim tied for 17th at the 2013 US Open as an amateur, and that remains his best outing at the event to date. Overall, that remains his best finish in a Major championship, and he wants to do even better next month at Oakmont Country Club.

Michael Kim qualified for the US Open next month (Image via Imagn)

The golfer has not won an event in 2025, but he has made 12 of 15 cuts and has one runner-up finish. He placed T2 at the WM Phoenix Open, losing to Thomas Detry. He also finished fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Michael Kim reflects on PGA Championship finish

Michael Kim shot five over at the PGA Championship and finished tied for 55th. He was 16 strokes back of Scottie Scheffler, who captured his third career Major title at Quail Hollow.

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Kim shared some thoughts from his outing. He said on X:

"Disappointed to finish where I did but also happy to make the cut when I wasn’t feeling my best physically. Today I felt like I was able to swing it the way I wanted much more than the last two weeks which is a step in the right direction."

Kim acknowledged some struggles with his putting and noted that he's going to try some things this week to "figure out" what has gone wrong and where he can fix it. He added:

"Gotta qualify for the Open Championship now. Idk what I have to do but good play usually fixes all that."

If Michael Kim does make it into the Open Championship field, he will have played all four Majors in a calendar year.

About the author

Zachary is a journalist covering NFL, Professional Golf, esports, and Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda. He has a degree in writing/editing from Southern Adventist University (USA), and in his spare time, he likes to play games such as Minecraft, Pokémon and Fortnite, or watch sports.

Ever since he was a youth football wide receiver, Zachary has been an avid NFL fan. He loves the Carolina Panthers, with Cam Newton being his all-time favorite player (with respect to the close second, Steve Smith). If you ever meet Zachary, prepare to hear all about how underrated Newton was and how he single-handedly dragged the Panthers to Super Bowl 50.

Zachary is also a big fan of top golfers like Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark, and Scottie Scheffler. He enjoys watching them and hopes that Woods can return to form soon and win again.

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Edited by Luke Koshi