Golf Sep 09, 2026

3M Open: Michael Kim falls one shot short of equalling PGA Tour 18-hole low score with stunning 59

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
3M Open: Michael Kim falls one shot short of equalling PGA Tour 18-hole low score with stunning 59

Michael Kim sensationally recorded only the 16th sub-60 score in the history of the PGA Tour as he shot a 12-under par 59 to soar into the lead at the 3M Open on Friday.

Kim's flawless round included a string of consecutive birdies between holes three and seven, before he wrapped up his round in style, going four under for his final four holes.

The 33-year-old enters the weekend firmly in command at TPC Twin Cities after moving to 14-under par for the tournament and opening a three-shot lead after two rounds.

A cluster of three players sits in second place. Ben Kohles, who had a two-shot lead entering the day, shot a 69 to drop into a tie for second with Chandler Phillips (65) and Emiliano Grillo (67).

But the day belonged to Kim.

The American's putter was red hot on Friday, draining eight putts from 10 or more feet away from the hole, and wrapped up his round in style, with an incredible 24-foot putt for birdie on the 18th.

The previous low round on the PGA Tour for the 2026 season was 60, with five players, Blades Brown, Wyndham Clark, Si Woo Kim, Andrew Putnam and Scottie Scheffler, all having achieved the feat this season.

Kim's second-round 59 puts him joint-second for the lowest 18-hole scores in PGA Tour history, with Jim Furyk's fourth-round 58 at the 2016 Travelers Championship remaining the US circuit's record score.

Kim, whose lone victory on the PGA Tour came at the 2018 John Deere Classic, explained he felt like he left everything out on the golf course.

"I putted awesome," he said. "I feel that I got just about everything I could out of that round.

"Some shots I didn't feel supremely confident over, but that's golf. I was happy I got away with par on 13.

"But other parts of my game, like my putting, felt fantastic. When you hit a putt and it does exactly what you kind of envisioned before you hit it, it's an awesome feeling. Felt like that all day out there."

Kim, whose previous low round on the PGA Tour came at the 2023 Wyndham Championship, said it was 'pretty cool' to be a part of history, but explained he will need to keep his cool to stay at the top of the standings.

"It will be important for me to not compare myself tomorrow to today's round, even if I get off to a poor start or just an OK start, to not be so disappointed that I'm not playing as well as I did today.

"There's a long way to go and that guy named Scottie Scheffler is probably going to throw up a good score today anyway. Nowhere near done."

Scottie Scheffler is tied for 13th on the leaderboard at seven-under par following a disappointing 70 on a very scoreable course.

World number one Scheffler, who was going along solidly at nine-under par before finding trouble at the 14th hole.

His approach shot found the water, leading to a double bogey six and the four-time major winner proceeded to bogey the par-3 17th as well after a poor tee shot.

Scheffler hit his second shot from an awkward lie in the rough, with the ball well below his feet, and it skidded 34 feet past the hole.

"Just got a bad break, but that happens," he said.

A birdie on 18 meant his day finished on a high but Scheffler will need to have an excellent weekend if he's going to pick up his first victory since the Desert Classic back in January.

Watch live coverage of the 3M Open on Your Site Golf from 7pm on Saturday. or

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