The China Mail - South Korea's Tom Kim living the Masters dream at age 20

Kim will tee off alongside four-time major winner McIlroy and 11th-ranked Sam Burns in Thursday afternoon's penultimate group of the opening round at the 87th Masters.

He has already heard roars from spectators after a Monday session alongside his idol Woods, a 15-time major winner, second-ranked McIlroy and US veteran Fred Couples.

"My first memory of just watching golf was the Masters and Tiger winning it," Kim said Tuesday. "For me to be able to share my first official practice round with him was a dream come true. To have Fred Couples and Rory join us, it was a dream."

They played together for nearly three hours, Kim joking and learning from major winners on one of the world's most famous courses.

"It was a long practice round, a lot of laughter, so it was really fun," Kim said. "But at the same time, the guys were pretty serious and they were getting work done. It was just nice and enjoyable."

Kim would become the youngest green jacket winner in history should he capture the Masters, eclipsing the mark of 21 years and 104 days set by Woods with his triumph in 1997 -- more than five years before Kim was born.

"That would exceed expectations for sure," Kim said. "Everyone wants to park in the champions parking lot. Everyone wants to go to the Champions Dinner. Everyone wants to fight for it. I'm the same way and hopefully I'll just be able to have a chance on Sunday.

"That would be a dream."

Kim learned all he could by watching Woods.

"Just the amount of work he does around the greens, it was really cool to see, to pick which chip shots he was hitting and stuff like that," Kim said. "The positions he put himself in after he holed out, it was really cool.

"He has years and years of knowledge here, so I'm pretty sure there's a reason why he's there."

- Inspiring Asian youth -

At Augusta Kim is hoping to follow the trail blazed by Asia's two male major winners: South Korean Yang Yong-eun, who outdueled Woods to win the 2009 PGA Championship, and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion.

"In major championship history, we haven't had many Asian golfers win," Kim said.

"Every single golfer wants to win it, but for an Asian golfer to win the Masters is going to be a lot more impactful, I feel like, because of how far this tournament is away.

"Hopefully this week, whether it's me or any Asian golfer, (one) will have a chance to win on Sunday and hopefully inspire the generations coming up."

Kim spent a few days at Augusta National in March to get over being awestruck, but spectators still stunned him.

"What I didn't expect was how amazing the crowds were," Kim said. "The standing ovations you get almost every tee, and if you make a putt for birdie, they are clapping.

"That really shook me a little bit, just realizing how historic this place is."

Kim hopes he can add to that history on Sunday.

F.Brown--ThChM