Tom Kim on verge of Asian Games gold (and avoiding military service) - Golfweek
One week after being the best performer for the International Team at the Presidents Cup, South Korea’s Tom Kim has picked up where he left off and is on the verge of winning a gold medal at the Asian Games in Japan.
Kim shot 65 on Friday and improved to 12-under par 198, to hold a one-stroke lead over Kazuki Higa and Wei-Hsuan wang after 54 holes with one more round to go. Kim must win gold – as an individual or in the team competition, which Korea also leads by one stroke over Japan – in order to avoid his country’s mandatory 18-21 months military service.
Kim, 24, won his Sunday singles match over Wyndham Clark and then departed Medinah in Chicago for the Asian Games once it became clear that the International Team would fall short of its quest to win the Presidents Cup for the first time since 1998.
Kim trailed by two strokes at the midway point of the Asian Games but carded an eagle and five birdies to surge in front. Kim, who won for the fourth time on the PGA Tour in July at the Genesis Scottish Open, is one of three Korean golfers competing in the Asian Games in Japan at Kasugi Country Club. The top two of the three scores count for the team competition.
All able-bodied males born in South Korea are obligated to serve in the military once they turn 19. They can postpone the date of their service, but without a significant "cultural justification," like an Olympic medal, service is mandatory.
Kim fell four shots out of a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024. But only gold will do at the Asian Games.
Seung Yul-Noh and Sang-Moon Bae are two Korean golfers who won on the Tour before their mandatory service obligation but haven’t been able to regain their form after taking two years away from competition.
Kim’s International Team teammates Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim won the gold medal in the team competition by 25 shots for South Korea in 2023 and earned an exemption from military service.
Kim can join them and continue his pro career without a hiatus for military service if he comes up golden on Saturday.
