Chocolate Was Tom Kim's Vegas Treat Last Year, Now He's Chasing a Sweet Three-Peat

The then-21-year-old's modest celebration went viral in 2023, now he's back to business in the town where the PGA Tour first paid big bucks.

Tom Kim is chasing the PGA Tour's first three-peat in over a decade. / Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

In the aftermath of Tom Kim’s second straight Shriners Children’s Open victory in 2023, the big story wasn’t his excellent play at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. 

When I asked Kim in his winner's press conference what the celebration would be like in Vegas—now that he was 21 years old—his response shook the internet and went viral.

“I’m going to go back home and I’m going to finish a piece of chocolate that I wanted to finish, so I’m going to do that,” Kim said. “And then I’m going to order room service, and I’m going to go to bed. Then I’m going to wake up at 3 and take my 6:30 a.m. flight. It’s going to be exciting.”

The next thing you know, the PGA Tour and all of golf social media was aflutter. The response even made the Netflix series Full Swing when the new season debuted a few months later.

On Tuesday in the same press area, this writer asked Kim to reflect on last year’s answer and if he was aware of how much interest it had generated.

“The answer got a lot of positive comments and at that time I didn't really see why, because it was just very pure and honest,” Kim said. “I wasn't trying to make anything out of it. It was just a very real answer for me. But it was nice to see how people liked it. I still remember eating it. It was back-to-back (wins) and having that last piece on Saturday night was very sweet. I don't have a piece of chocolate with me this week, but we'll find something else.”

Kim is in Las Vegas to defend his two Vegas titles. The tournament is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, so there is still time for Kim to find another piece of chocolate.

Kim goes off at 12:18 p.m. Thursday with the two most recent PGA Tour winners, Matt McCarty and Kevin Yu. He is ready to tee it up on arguably his favorite course in the world, at least the layout where he has enjoyed the most success. He looks to become the first PGA Tour player to win the same tournament three times in a row since Steve Stricker won the John Deere Classic from 2009–11.

“I think it's taking advantage (of the scoring opportunities). There are a lot of birdies out there,”  Kim said. “I have to pick and choose when I want to attack. You could play the most boring round of 66 out here. That is possible because good ball striking gets rewarded. The greens are so perfect that the balls will stay on line. I think that is why I have been able to do well here because it's not the longest of golf courses. You have to plug your way around. You can't just hit it 180 ball speed everywhere. You have to hit it straight and that's been a strength of my game.”

Kim and the field will be chasing a first-place check of $1.26 million, which is $260,000 more than the entire purse was in 1983 when the Las Vegas Panasonic Celebrity Golf Classic became the first million-dollar purse in PGA Tour history. Now, Kim said, the money being played for is almost beyond belief.

But he is happy to be a part of this generation.

“As a player, the money we play for is something to be very grateful for because everyone works to provide for someone and for themselves,” Kim said. “To be a professional golfer and not only try to achieve goals, but to have the bonus to play for a lot of prize money, it is very rewarding. I am very grateful to be a part of this generation where the money we play for has now become overwhelming.”

That $1.26 million first-place check can buy a lot of chocolate. In Vegas or wherever.

Brian Hurlburt is the founder of www.LasVegasGolfInsider.com and can be followed @lasvegasgolfinsider on social media.