The Next Chapter of Michael Sim

At 39, Michael Sim swings with a silky simplicity that looks as consistent as ever. As Sim takes the club back, there are no signs he once endured a stress fracture in his spine that derailed half a season on the PGA Tour. His body rotates perfectly and his head hardly moves. Sim’s arms remain tightly connected to his torso in the backswing. He stops in a Hoganesque position at the top of his swing – just above the shoulder that kept him from the Mecca of golf. The club changes directions unhurriedly, as if he had all the time in the world. 

Sim was the 34th ranked player in the world in 2010. The Aussie won four Nationwide Tour events (now Korn Ferry Tour) in two seasons and played with Tiger Woods in the final round of the 2009 U.S. Open, finishing 18th. He made over $2 million in 2009-2010 and earned an invite to The Masters in 2010. 

But Sim never saw Magnolia Lane. 

Sitting at a large dinner table at the Swan Lakeview Hotel restaurant in Beijing in 2017, I was surrounded by Aussie professional golfers in good spirits. The Chinese banquet room was big and drafty, with dozens of tables that could easily accommodate an entire field of players. I had come to play the Volvo China Open, but nagging pain in my wrist sent me to a doctor, and an ultrasound revealed a build-up of fluid around my joint. I had a bag of ice on my wrist throughout the meal and the conversation turned to injuries. A question was posed to Sim, who sat across from me.

“What kept you out of The Masters, Simmy?”

Before Sim could reply, another player at the table chimed in with a humorous jab. 

“A torn heartstring.” His mates laughed.

Someone asked how he could withdraw from The Masters for, well, anything – most golfers would have to be flatlined in a hospital bed before they’d withdraw. Sim had taken a full month off to rest his shoulder before The Masters, but it wasn’t enough. 

“I didn’t think it would be my only chance,” replied Sim. 

The conversation was lively as it usually is with Aussies, but you could hear disappointment in Sim’s voice.

I played through the pain in Beijing that week, but both Sim and I missed the cut. 

Golf is unpredictable, which is one of the reasons it’s so addictive to play, compelling to watch, and maddening to pursue as a profession.

The following season after Sim withdrew from The Masters, he missed 13 of 19 cuts on the PGA Tour, was relegated to the Korn Ferry Tour, and soon found himself without any Tour status. He started a family, and in the six years that followed, only competed in six more Korn Ferry Tour events. While he won on the Australasia Tour in 2017 and 2020, Sim never regained the form that vaulted him to the top of the professional game. 

“Anything I would change? A few things maybe,” Sim says while reflecting on his career. “Have a better balance outside of golf. Hardest part coming from Australia and living in America from age 21 – my friends and family were at home alongside my coach, so at times, that made it difficult.” Sim added he would tell his younger self not to make as many swing and equipment changes. “Keep doing what I was doing,” says Sim. “Don’t try to change too much technically as that was what got me on tour.”

Sim competed in the New Zealand Open, an Asian Tour event, in early March. He strung together four solid rounds and finished T34. On Instagram Sim wrote he hoped this wasn’t his last NZ Open, and few know better that some opportunities are fleeting. Sim returned home to Lakelands Golf Club on Australia’s Gold Coast where he teaches. But giving lessons isn’t the only thing he has on the horizon. 

The season finale of the NEXT Golf Tour – the virtual league powered by Trackman — is underway. The $100,000 event has a limited field reserved for the top 100 money earners of the season. Scroll past the top 20 on the Order of Merit and keep going all the way to the end of the list. Just before you reach the 100th spot, you’ll find Sim’s name in 96th. Sim is enjoying the NEXT Tour because it keeps him close to his two kids at home. While he narrowly qualified for the season finale, no one in the field has a resume that even comes close.

"I really enjoy playing simulator golf. It will never be outdoor golf but you can play and compete in 45 minutes,” says Sim. “Simulator tournaments really do bring the pressure. How can that not be good for pro golfers? It’s real money and a chance to use your skills to finish up the leaderboard.”

Sim still has the silky tempo that helped propel him to the top of PGA Tour leaderboards. He’s contended all over the world, but winning in a simulator would be a new accomplishment for him – and given his last name, fitting. The OOM winner receives two Challenge Tour exemptions and one DP World Tour exemption. While Sim can’t accumulate enough money to earn these exemptions, the $50,000 1st place check might get Sim off the lesson tee and into more competition. 

“My dream as a kid was to play on the PGA Tour and I did that at a young age,” Sim says. “Do I still have Tour aspirations? I won’t say it’s a no.” 

‍