A rising star in the world of golf, Joo-Hyung (Tom) Kim has made a few changes in his caddie lineup during his relatively short career so far.
The South Korean currently has veteran looper Paul Tesori on his bag, after his previous long-term caddie Joe Skoron moved on to work with Ludvig Aberg at the end of 2023.
Tesori is one of the most experienced caddies on the PGA Tour and is most known for working with Webb Simpson for 12 years. The pair won seven PGA Tour titles together, including the 2012 US Open, and featured on three Ryder Cup and three Presidents Cup teams.
Tesori also previously caddied for Vijay Singh, Jerry Kelly and Sean O’Hair before his extended stint with Simpson.
In March 2023, Simpson announced that he made the “difficult” decision to end their relationship, saying on social media that Tesori would be moving on to carry Cameron Young’s bag.
Thank you to the newest #TeamTesori member: @joohyungkim0621 - SO THANKFUL for you and your overwhelming joy and graciousness! Your passion is infectious! #ASKC @wellsfargogolf @PaulTesori @mrstesori pic.twitter.com/AqLkqUAmvCMay 8, 2024
Tesori and Young worked together for 10 months, before splitting in December 2023. Tesori worked briefly with Brendon Todd at the start of 2024, before linking up with Kim. They have remained in partnership ever since.
Speaking to Golfweek about joining Kim, Tesori said: “I’m looking forward to what will hopefully be another long term relationship on the bag. Tom is obviously extremely talented but having faith as a common denominator is something that I believe will help when golf gets difficult, which it seems to always be.”
Kim has three PGA Tour titles but has yet to win with Tesori on his bag, with the duo coming the closest at the 2024 Travelers Championship where Kim finished in second after losing a playoff to Scottie Scheffler.
Speaking after the Travelers, Kim said he has a “special” relationship with Tesori and their shared faith was a big part of their relationship.
“Paul and I have definitely become a lot more than just a caddie-player relationship,” Kim said. “Obviously it's very big, he and I have the same sign of faith, which is really, really cool. So perspective-wise, if I'm having a tough day on the golf course, the perspectives that he can give is very different from what I've had.
“Instead of just saying, hey, just a tough day on the golf course, he can definitely like just show a lot of the biblical stuff and it really helps me personally when it gets tough. Just to kind of see last week and the good finishes, because we've been working really, really hard to kind of just play well and to kind of see that and share the same perspectives when good things happen, it's really special.”
Kim first got into the PGA Tour winner's circle in 2022 at the Wyndham Championship, rounding off a very successful season indeed. The man on the bag that day was Jacob Fleck and he was on the bag for a lot of the Korean's starts on the PGA Tour at the beginning of his career.
Kim then moved on to Skovron, who is best known as Rickie Fowler’s old caddie, ahead of the 2022 Presidents Cup. The pair formed a successful relationship, including winning back-to-back Shriners Children’s Open titles in 2022 and 2023 together, before parting ways in December 2023.
Before linking up with Tesori in February 2024, Kim also had a brief stint with Daniel Parratt.
