Watch Tim Kim's emotional reaction as he wins gold at the Asian Games, avoids military service
Zhe Ji
Tom Kim stared down a week of pressure unlike anything in professional golf and delivered the most clutch eagle of his career, in the final round of the Asian Games in Japan.
An eagle 3 at the par-5 13th on the East course at the Kasugai Country Club took Kim from a precarious two-shot lead to four, allowing the 24-year-old to cruise through the last five holes en route to a gold medal victory. The accolade will earn Kim an exemption from his home country’s mandatory military service for men.
South Korean men aged 18–35 are usually required to undergo up to 21 months of service in the defense force. However, the government awards exemptions (except for the month-long basic training) to athletes who secure a gold medal at the Asian Games or any of the three medals at the Olympics.
"I'm more proud that I'm able to bring a medal for my country," Kim said afterward.
Kim had dashed from Chicago—where he finished the Presidents Cup as the highest points earner (4) on either team—across the Pacific Ocean to Japan in the moments after the International team’s loss to the U.S. at Medinah, knowing the enormous opportunity on the line. One can only imagine the anxiousness the four-time PGA Tour winner Kim felt on Friday night, after the third round, when he took a one-shot lead over Japan’s Kazuki Higa and Taiwan’s Wang Wei-hsuan heading into the final day in Nagoya.
But Kim looked unfazed by what was at stake. Quite the contrary, the World No.32 was a man on a mission on the front nine of Kasugai’s East course, grabbing birdies at Nos.2, 4, 6 and 8 to make the turn in four under par. Despite another birdie at the par-4 11th, Kim was still only up by two shots until he took the tournament by the scruff of the neck with an eagle at the 503-yard par-5 13th.
In the most consequential round of his life, the recent Scottish Open champion was seven under through 13 holes. Three straight pars turned the home stretch into a formality apart from a dropped shot at the par-4 17th.
After pouring in his par putt at the par-4 18th for a six-under 64, Kim dropped his putter and cradled his head with his hands, letting out more relief than emotion. He was soaked with bottles of water by national teammates and draped in the South Korean flag.
“It’s a crazy feeling. I’m just glad it’s over,” Kim said following his gold-medal win. “This day was the longest day I think I’ve ever had in my life. It’s only been six, five hours but it is definitely the longest, and I’m just glad it’s done.”
At 18 under (262), Kim won by three shots over Higa, China’s Wenyi Ding and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana.
Kim had a previous athletic opportunity to avoid military service via the 2024 Olympic games in Paris, where even a bronze would have sufficed. Kim finished four shots outside the podium at Le Golf National. He did not miss this week’s chance, though.
Kim’s fellow South Koreans and recent Presidents Cup teammates, Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim, had secured their military exemptions when the duo triumphed in the teams gold medal for South Korea at the Asian Games in 2023.
Not all have been as successful. PGA Tour fans may remember Sang-Moon Bae, whose career was stalled by 21 months of service. Bae had won twice on the PGA Tour by the fall of 2014 and was a captain’s pick on the International team for the he 2015 Presidents Cup in South Korea. However, he was unable to avoid service and the Presidents Cup in Incheon was his last event before two years away from the game. Upon return to the PGA Tour in 2017, Bae was relegated to the Korn Ferry Tour but won the Albertsons Boise Open and reclaimed his PGA Tour card for the 2018/19 season.
Kim won’t need to think about conscription anymore. His promising career continues and after a starring role in the Presidents Cup and Asian Games, Kim, who is searching for a maiden major victory, is hoping it opens the floodgates.
“It’s a big stepping stone,” Kim predicted, having finished third at this year’s U.S. Open and T-2 at the 2023 British Open. “I think the pressure that I felt this week, I'll be able to implement it in my upcoming seasons."
Fellow South Korean S.H. Kim was in a similar situation to Tom Kim, hoping to win a gold medal individually or with South Korea as a team to avoid his military service. However, S.H. Kim made three back-nine bogeys to shoot a 73, and the team, ahead by one shot entering the final round, dropped to second, two shots back of China.