U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2026

June 20, 2026

Tom Kim

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

Flash Interview

THE MODERATOR: We're here with Tom Kim, 2-over 72. Tom, can you just talk us through that round today?

TOM KIM: Yeah, I hung in there nicely. I think I

could go back and pick out a few things I should have done better or I could have done better.

I'm just very glad that the day is over. The grind was pretty tough today, I think. I did a really good job of hanging in there really nicely.

Kind of glad to be in this position where I can have a good day tomorrow.

Q. You're tied for second. You probably will be looking up at Wyndham a few shots back. What's the mindset to be a chaser tomorrow?

TOM KIM: Yeah, I think going into tomorrow, I think you've just got to look at it as you've got to kind of do your own thing. You can't really force a lot of things out here. You've got to keep staying patient, and that's what I'm going to do.

Q. You got off to such a rough start, 3-over through 6. How were you able to maintain your patience?

TOM KIM: It wasn't really as bad as the score was. It was tough out there. I didn't really hit a very bad shot for six holes. Just a couple putts that just wiggled on me, and I just kept telling myself that as long as I keep hanging in there and keep waiting for my time to kind of wait for that good wave to come, I knew I was going to be in a good position, and I felt like definitely kind of coming in, I did a good job of hanging in there.

Q. How big was the birdie at 7 after your 3-over at 6 to put a 2 up on one of the harder par-3s in the world? Did that flip the script a little bit for you, give you a little bit of a positive outlook?

TOM KIM: Yeah, I would say so. I think it was very nice to kind of get that little bogey off of -- I left it half a roll short of the hole on 6, and for that to go in on 7, it just kind of felt like, okay, let's start the round.

Q. Did you think the course changed much overnight? I thought the hole locations were a little bit more difficult, and the greens were absolutely more firm.

TOM KIM: Yeah, absolutely. The greens were definitely -- I think the biggest part is the greens were definitely firmer. The pin locations, I think they definitely tucked it a little bit on certain holes, and obviously with the greens being firm, it made it very challenging.

Q. You're going to have a chance going into the final round. Tell me your thoughts going in trying to win a U.S. Open Sunday.

TOM KIM: Tomorrow I'm just going to stay very, very patient like I did today. I'm just going to keep doing my thing and, like I said, just wait for my good wave to come.

Q. What's it like out there when you're grinding away and you look up at the scoreboard, and Wyndham is just not dropping back to you guys?

TOM KIM: I mean, to have a seven-shot lead going into Sunday, it's very impressive. As you can see, it's kind of a jumbled leaderboard, except for where the leader is.

I think he's definitely being rewarded for good play, which definitely out here, that's what it is. I think all of us are going to try to really stay patient and hopefully keep getting an inch closer every hole.

Q. It seemed like it was a bit of a grind for you today. Was there a swing thought or a mantra that you kept going back to that kept you in it and fighting?

TOM KIM: I think a couple moments where I just -- I was walking down the fairway, and I thought it was just so cool, just with Shinnecock being the way Shinnecock is, just walking down. The biggest thought I had today was I want to have as much fun as possible. That's kind of all I thought about.

I didn't want to think about having a chance or a bogey or a birdie. I just told myself, this is everything that every golfer practices for. I think no matter what score happens today, as long as I'm the guy that has the most fun out there, I'm going to be happy.