Tom Kim's topped opening tee shot at Pebble Beach set up this surprising score

PEBBLE BEACH — Golfers of all stripes can identify with Tom Kim and the execution—or lack thereof—of his opening tee shot Saturday in the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Everyone gets a little shaky and doesn’t put their best swing on the ball.

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A three-time PGA Tour winner, Kim proved he is not immune to a faltering start.

The short par-4 opening hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, a dogleg right measuring 382 yards, requires nothing more than a fairway metal or long iron off the tee. Playing in the penultimate group, Kim opted for the former, and the shot didn’t come off quite the way he planned.

That’s the ol’ topped shot there, boys and girls, but it turned out a bit better than he could have expected, skittering down the middle of the fairway and traveling a surprising 215 yards on the damp turf. He didn’t take advantage of the break, pulling his approach from 167 yards left of the green into the thick rough.

This is where the 22-year-old South Korean native is not like the rest of us. With his ball on a slight uphill lie, Kim popped the ball over a ridge and holed out from 30 feet for a very unlikely birdie. He won the skin among his group that included Tony Finau and Andrew Novak, who each settled for par.

Ranked 24th in the world, Kim began the third round four shots behind Sepp Straka at 10 under and through seven holes he’d cut the margin to two strokes.