The 2025 PGA Championship has been a roller-coaster ride so far. The leaderboard looks absurd with a lot of unknown golfers topping the list. Fans have witnessed a rogue turtle on the 16th Green and compared him to Patrick Cantlay. The defending champion, Xander Schauffele, had a disastrous start to the tournament and barely scraped through for a cut. And now, reports have come in about Si Woo Kim’s shocking actions in Charlotte, North Carolina, before the tournament even began.

The South Korean was seen lighting up a smoke just before teeing off in the first round at Quail Hollow. And when Dan Rapaport questioned him about his actions as he hadn’t seen him smoke before, the 29-year-old honestly replied, “Getting old and stressed.” Still quite a lot younger than many of the golfers on the North Carolina course, the 4-time PGA Tour winner had quite a few reasons to be stressed.

The last time Kim had made the cut in the PGA Championship was back in 2022. In fact, he holds a nerve-racking record in the Wanamaker Trophy event. In his 9 attempts in the major, the South Korean has only made the cut twice. While his T13 finish in the 2020 PGA Championship was promising, he still had a lot to prove every time he played the tournament. So it’s understandable why he let the pressure pile on to him in his 10th attempt at the major.

Latest reports suggest that he might not face any consequences for smoking on the course. Turns out, there is no official rule that punishes golfers for committing the act. However, it’s generally frowned upon, as many young fans also follow the sport.

One usually smokes when they are tensed, but considering the way he performed in the second round, we doubt Si Woo Kim will have any reason to be stressed for the remainder of the 2025 PGA Championship.

Si Woo Kim smokes the field at Valhalla.

Si Woo Kim had finished 1-over par 72 on Thursday and was trailing the top of the leaderboard by 8 strokes. That only added to his stress levels at the beginning of the 2025 PGA Championship. However, the South Korean golfer was able to turn things around by the end of Friday. Kim had an outstanding 18 holes in the second round to rise up the rankings. He scored a 7-under par 64, which was one of the best scores for the round.

The 29-year-old managed six birdies and one bogey throughout the day. He also had a marvelous ace on the 6th hole that helped him jump up to 5-under. A birdie on the 7th was what pushed him within two strokes of Jhonattan Vegas, who has been at the top of the leaderboard since the first round. Considering his form in round two, Si Woo Kim is certainly a favorite to win his first major going into the weekend of the 2025 PGA Championship.