BLAINE, Minn. — Michael Kim sank a 24-foot putt for birdie on the 18th hole of the 3M Open on Friday, hitting a 59 and the 15th in PGA Tour history.
Kim birdied the last four holes of a bogey-free round at TPC Twin Cities to take his tournament total to 14 under par, three strokes ahead of the three players at the end of the second round.
Ben Coles, who held a two-stroke lead that day, shot a 69 to move into a tie for second place with Chandler Phillips (65) and Emiliano Grillo (67).
Scottie Scheffler was hit with two bad swings, leaving the world’s top-ranked player over 70 and seven strokes behind.
Kim achieved 59 points for the fourth time on tour since 2024. Jake Knapp was the last to score 59 points in the first round of the 2025 Cognizant Classic. Jim Furyk holds the tour record with a 58 at the 2016 Travelers Championship.
“Today was a great day,” said Kim, who shot a 69 on Thursday. “But we’re only halfway there, so we need to focus a little bit for the weekend.”
Coles’ post-round interview was interrupted by a roar as Kim made her final putt.
“That’s disgusting,” he said with a laugh. “I have 59. I don’t think 62 was that good.”
Kim’s idea is not to be “overly protective.” That won’t be easy on the par-3 17th and par-5 18th holes, where water covers each hole.
“I said to myself, ‘This is the way to go, this is your moment in history, let’s go for it, let’s not get lucky, let’s step up and hit a really good shot,'” he said.
Kim needed an uphill 24-foot putt with little break on the final hole to reach the magic number.
“A lot of times when you’re uphill like that, you leave short. The last thing was to get the ball in there, but I tried not to go short,” Kim said, raising his hand and fist-bumping a few times as the ball sank into the cup.
Kim, whose previous career-low round was a 62, had five straight birdies starting at No. 3 and added three in four holes starting at No. 9.
Eight of his birdies came from 10 feet or more.
“It’s a great feeling when you hit a putt and it’s exactly how you envisioned it before you hit it,” said Kim, who won her only tour victory at the 2018 John Deere Classic. “That’s the best feeling I’ve had all day outside.”
After finishing second at the Valero Texas Open in April, Kim’s best finish in 12 tournaments since then has been 17th, and she has missed the cut four times, including the last three weeks at the Open, Scottish Open and John Deere Classic.
Kim, who has been playing for the past five weeks, considered skipping this week’s tour stop.
“I felt pretty good energy-wise,” Kim said. “So after missing out on the British Open, I went home and had a few days to relax and I’m really glad I was here.”
Kim and Corless played in the morning before the wind picked up and gusts exceeded 20 mph. The afternoon scores reflected that change.
“I definitely didn’t hit 59. Maybe someone who was playing really well could have hit 64, 63,” Grillo said.
Scheffler was 9 under, but his approach shot fell into the water on No. 14, resulting in a double bogey. His tee shot on the par-3 17th fell into the right rough, and his second shot from an awkward lie with the ball well below his feet skidded 34 feet down the hole for bogey.
“I just had a bad day off, but things like that happen,” he said.
