The biggest stars from the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour are playing with each other at the co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open. This year, the golfers are playing for a total purse of $9 million. Tom Kim collected the $1,575,000 winner’s paycheck and burst into tears as he celebrated his fourth PGA Tour title. However, his check will shrink by more than half before he sees it.
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A major part of those losses is generated because of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Under HMRC rules for foreign entertainers and sportspeople in Europe, any organization that pays a non‑resident athlete to perform in the UK must withhold a percentage of their pay. Beyond HMRC, Kim owes his caddie 10% ($157,500). However, Tom Kim earned far more than that, so the percentage has increased as well.
He would end up paying $684,921 to HMRC. Kim has won $1,575,000 at the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open. According to the rules, the basic allowance is subject to 0% tax. However, amounts between £12,571 and £50,270 are subject to 20% tax, and those between £50,271 and £125,140 are subject to 40% tax. The final slab covers amounts over £125,140, which are subject to 45% tax.
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Oops, bogey!
Adding amounts from all four slabs, the total tax Tom Kim has to pay is £534,675. Converting this back into U.S. dollars comes to $684,921.
Beyond HMRC, Kim owes his caddie 10% ($157,500). Adding the two totals, $840,421. He could be paying others, too.
Thus, Kim will end up paying over 50% of his earnings for just these two things. This is the hard-earned money he won at the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open.
Kim started the event with an opening round of five-under 65, which included six birdies and a bogey. He was co-leading the event at the end of Round 1, alongside Rory McIlroy, Rasmus Højgaard, Bernd Wiesberger, and Patrick Cantlay. He maintained that momentum in Round 2, completing it with a four-under 66. It included three birdies, a bogey, and an eagle on the par-5 7th. He was again the co-leader mid-round.
Kim shot a two-under 68 in Round 3, a slight dip from his earlier rounds. But on the final day, he didn’t let anyone come even close to him with a bogey-free round. He hit six birdies in the final round to score six-under 64 and seal the victory. Collectively, his final score was 17-under 263, two shots ahead of runner-up Min Woo Lee.
Kim’s 2026 campaign is on the right track. He had already registered two top-10s and 4 top-25s in 16 starts before the Genesis Scottish Open. The 24-year-old picked up pace in the latter half of the season. It started with a T6 at the Myrtle Beach Classic. However, the real highlight came at the 2026 U.S. Open, where he finished 3rd with rounds of 70-67-72-70. And now, he registered his fourth victory on the PGA Tour.
Despite all this, Kim had failed to become a household name. But his rise this season can help him achieve that goal, especially if he carries this momentum into next week’s Open Championship and wins. But regardless of whether he wins at Royal Birkdale, he has the potential to become the next big Asian golfer and join the likes of Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, and Si Woo Kim.
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