English golfer Kris Kim, 16, becomes latest teen sensation to dazzle on PGA Tour

English teenager Kris Kim made the cut at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and is the youngest player in almost a decade to do so on the PGA Tour. Kim, 16, is also playing the weekend at a younger age than anyone else in the Texas-based tournament’s history, taking that title from hometown hero Jordan Spieth. Playing on a sponsor exemption, Kim had four-under-par 67 second round to finish seven-under.

Kim is the son of South Korean former LPGA player Ji-Hyun Suh and lives in Surrey with her and his younger brother, Matthew. The Seoul-based CJ Group sponsored Kim, allowing the amateur to make his tour debut. Making the cut comes two weeks after the 15-year-old Miles Russell achieved the same feat on the Korn Ferry Tour at the Lecom Suncoast Classic.

Kim acknowledged taking inspiration from the American before his first start. “To see that he can compete, I think I can compete as well out here,” he said via the PGA Tour before adding: “It’s been fun to watch him do well.” By the end of this year, both will have made their PGA Tour debuts, as the American has received a sponsor exemption to the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November.

Russell is the reigning American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Junior Player of the Year. He became the youngest player handed the honour, supplanting Tiger Woods in the record books. The American also not only made the cut at the Suncoast Classic but also finished tied for 20th.

Kim could yet repeat that feat, starting the weekend in a tie for 36th place.