PGA Tour’s Tom Kim Sealed His Own Downfall as Career Misstep Hugely Benefits Golf’s New Breakout Star

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Tom Kim has a total of three victories to his name. He already had two before he was 22. The golfer turned pro back in 2018 and won his first title at the 2022 Wyndham Championship. However, after the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open he is yet to win another title. One might think and question what changed that led to this drought. Well, a podcast reveals some insights.

Recently Vanity Index Podcast with Skratch shared a video on Instagram. In the clip, the insiders were talking about Tour caddies and how they are one of the crucial parts for the golfers. In the conversation, Joe Skovron’s name came up who caddied for Rickie Fowler for a long time and helped him win all five of Fowler’s PGA Tour wins, including the 2015 Players Championship.

Later, Skovron and Tom Kim talked about how he made a difference in his career. “You have a good caddie that can make or break your career. I mean look at Joe Skovron with Ludvig Aberg and, you, know he left Tom Kim. Tom Kim had two wins before he was 22 years old on the PGA Tour and Joe, like went to go caddie for Ludvig and you know you can see the effect that’s had.” Joe Skovron joined Tom Kim back in 2022, a week before the Presidents Cup.

 

It’s true that Kim had already won the Wyndham Championship and became the second youngest winner of a PGA Tour event since World War II. His caddie helped the golfer with the 2022 and 2023 Shriners Children’s Open back-to-back wins. However, after they parted ways Tom Kim hasn’t won any title. He also had a heartbreak at the Paris Olympics, where the golfer was unable to win a medal for his country. Could it be that Joe Skovron was his good luck charm?

Interestingly, their relationship wasn’t limited to the greens. Kim considered Skovron as his big brother. After winning his third PGA Tour title in 2023 the golfer talked about his relationship with Skovron and said to the PGA Tour “The journey that me and Joe have had, he’s not really just my caddie. He’s really like my big brother now. I would not have been able to get third win this fact fast without him. I love him to death, and I’m very grateful that I have the opportunity, we have the opportunity to work together as a team,” he continued. “This one really goes out to him because he’s the best dude I’ve known.” While Tom Kim had a strong bond with his former caddie, what about Aberg?

How’s Ludvig Aberg’s relationship with his caddie?

Back in December 2023 Ludvig Aberg and Joe Skovron joined forces and since then they have been working together. Although Aberg’s former caddie Jack Clarke was with him when he won the Omega European Masters and The RSM Classic. The golfer wanted someone more experienced to kick things off on the PGA Tour. And, Skovron seemed like the best fit. The 2024 season was overall a decent season for Aberg with some of the highlighting moments like finishing second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Masters. This also helped him rise in the OWGR. 

This year the Swedish pro also won the Genesis Invitational and also talked about his playful relationship with his caddie. He said “Anytime you make a shot off the green it’s a bonus,” said Aberg, describing his bunker shot and his bet with his caddie. “All I tried to do was get it somewhat close and make a birdie. It was nice to see it go in. I have a little bet with my caddie, Joe, to see how many hole-outs we can do this year, so that was one for the count.” Things are looking good for Ludvig Aberg so far, it will be interesting to see how this season turns out for him.

How many wins do you think Joe Skovron can help him achieve?

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