For four holes during Si Woo Kim‘s best career major finish, he putted with his 3-wood.
And we’re talking about a professional major, at the Masters no less, not your buddy’s member-guest.
The obvious question as to why Kim, who was tied for fifth during the second round of the 2021 Masters, needed to use a 3-wood on the final four greens at Augusta that day has an obvious answer: he broke his putter on 15 green.
In what was one of the most viral moments of that year’s Masters, after playing the first 13 holes of Friday’s second round in a bogey-free four-under, Kim bogeyed 14 and then chipped his third shot just over the edge green at the par-5 15th.
Then, as he stood behind his birdie putt, he slammed his putter on the ground and snapped it.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, Kim relived perhaps the most viral moment of his Masters career. He explained that the frustration with his putting actually started on Thursday after he opened with 71.
Si Woo Kim snaps putter at Masters, forced to putt with 3-wood
“I wasn’t putting it good,” he told co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz. “So I missed like five feet, twice in a row. I was so pissed. “Thursday I missed over the green on 15 and then chipped it short, make par. And then the next day, Friday, over the green, chip it long and make par. I mean, when I chip it, like pretty much over the green, but like sitting at the edge, I was so pissed doing the same thing, two days in a row.”
Remarkably, Kim made par on 15, taking two putts with his 3-wood. He also parred the final three holes, two-putting with the fairway wood each time.
He said he went with the the fairway wood instead of blading a wedge because he struggles with the start line when blading a wedge.
“It’s almost like an arm lock,” he said. “It’s like the length of an arm lock too, so if you lean it a little, it’s actually pretty good.”
Kim shot 69 in the second round but faded with 74-72 on the weekend to finish T12, his best career major finish.
For more from Kim, including a bizarre lost golf club story and why he flew coach after winning the 2017 Players, listen to the full interview here or watch it below.
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