Southampton: Tom Kim celebrated his birthday with his third career top-10 finish at a major tournament. Kim finished third at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, at one-under 279, three strokes behind the champion, Wyndham Clark of the United States. Kim shot an even 70 in the final round, which coincided with his 24th birthday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, this was Kim's best performance at a U.S. Open and his third top-10 at a major for his career. Previously, he tied for eighth at the 2023 U.S. Open and tied for second at the Open Championship the same year. Despite being winless since October 2023, Kim's performance marked a significant improvement in a challenging year that saw him drop to 141st in the world rankings. Following the U.S. Open, he jumped to No. 64 in the rankings, having not been inside the top 100 since October last year.

Kim commenced the final round at one-under, six strokes behind Clark, in a four-way tie for second place. Positioned in the penultimate pairing ahead of Clark, Kim began with a bogey on the opening hole, followed by a birdie at the third and a bogey at the fourth, maintaining one-over for the round. He secured his second birdie at the par-4 eighth, returning to even par for the round and one-under for the tournament.

Clark's three bogeys on the front nine allowed Kim to remain in contention. Despite a bogey on the 10th, Kim rebounded with a birdie at the par-3 11th. He birdied the 16th but bogeyed the 17th, ultimately running out of holes. Clark narrowly retained his lead to win by one stroke over fellow American Sam Burns.

Reflecting on his performance, Kim expressed optimism about the future. "For the first time, I was able to really taste a major championship right in front of my fingertips," he said. "I can go back this whole week and just see how close I actually am. This week, I really felt like I did a lot of good things, but I really do feel like I left a lot of shots out there. It's a big positive for me and my team. I look back and am like, okay, if I can get better at just a couple more things, I can definitely get my hands on one of these."

In addition to Kim, two other South Koreans participated in the U.S. Open. Im Sung-jae tied for 43rd at eight-over 288, while Kim Si-woo missed the cut by two strokes after shooting 77-69.