Max Homa and Michael Kim kicked off their friendship during their college years in the 2012-2013 season. Homa and his “little brother,” Kim, were part of a surprising Cal powerhouse that dominated by winning 12 of 14 events before they lost in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship. However, of course, one of the highlights of their friendship came a decade later during a PGA Tour event.

The story started at the 2023 Safeway event when Kim played with Max Homa. Of course, by then, Homa already had more than 600,000 followers on X, but Kim didn’t understand the gravity (and pull) of that number until that fateful event. However, when he played with Homa and saw the “crowd that he [Homa] drew,” it served as a “big eye opener” for him.

Skip to 2025, and Michael Kim still thinks of that moment and its consequence rather fondly. Talking about the rise in social media followers, Kim said during a recent Golf.com interview, “So, Max and I–our careers kind of misaligned in a way. When I was playing well, he wasn’t playing very well. And when I was starting to play bad, he was starting to play well. And so, I obviously knew about his Twitter and how big it had gotten, but I hadn’t really played with him during tour events to, like, really see how big it had gotten with fans and his reach. And after I got my card back, in ’22, I played with him at Safeway, the first two rounds. That’s when I was, like, really surprised at how many people came and were there to watch him.”

Of course, during that time, Michael Kim was dealing with his career slump. In the 2023 season, Kim returned to the PGA Tour after he lost his card the year before and played on the Korn Ferry Tour. With the guidance of coach Sean Foley, he made a comeback, achieving four top-10 finishes, eight top-25 finishes, and finishing 84th on the FedEx Cup points list. Of course, that event and the heavy crowd served as the “Aha” moment for Michael Kim.

Kim believes in helping others more than roasting them on his X account (161k followers). With a “better understanding of the golf game, definitely more so than amateurs,” he decided to “put my name out there a bit more” and pursue his unique identity. He realized that passionate fans seek insider information about tour players’ lives, including their practice routines and travel expenses. This insight led him to provide swing tips to amateur golfers who shared videos with him. At one point, he even offered a live lesson in a simulator while stuck at the Istanbul airport, but no one accepted his spontaneous offer.

This isn’t the first time Michael Kim has appreciated Max Homa’s help. In 2024, the Tour pro shared, “Max is the catalyst for me taking this a bit more seriously, for sure,” Kim said. “It was just kind of seeing how his following had grown so much.” Of course, Kim has grown a different kind of social media presence than Homa.

That one time, Michael Kim’s social media reply earned Grant Horvat’s “respect”

The name Grant Horvat is just as popular on golf’s social media as Michael Kim, if not more. Known for his creative golf videos on YouTube, Horvat first gained attention in April when he received an invitation to play at the Barracuda Championship in July. However, the $4M event’s invitation excited him and made him nervous, as he wondered whether he should accept it. The golf influencer then decided to take it to social media: “I got invited to play a PGA Tour event. Truly on the fence, should I play?”

Michael Kim, always excited to join in on the conversation, decided to come to his rescue and replied, “If you want to play, you should play. It’s a sponsors invite and any person or maybe even tour pro that wants to tell you that you’re taking a spot or you should “earn it” is total BS.” An emotional Grant Horvat replied, “Thanks, Michael. Respect.” 

Of course, this isn’t the first time Michael Kim gained fan traction this season. In March, for instance, following a successful stretch that included three top-six finishes, Kim achieved a career-high ranking of 52nd in the OWGR. True to his style, he jokingly tweeted, “I’m currently a better golfer than Jon Rahm,” highlighting that he had moved ahead of the LIV Golf star in the rankings. This remark was made in jest, as Jon Rahm is a two-time major champion known for consistently finishing among the top players in tournaments.