Two years ago in Paris, Tom Kim broke down in tears while submitting his scorecard at the Albatros course in Le Golf National. He had entered the final round of the Olympic golf event in a medal position, and finishing in the top three would have granted him a rare honor. But he faded badly that day, finishing eighth in the final standings.
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The experience lingered as he returned to the international stage this week in Japan, where he had a chance to change the story at the 20th Asian Games. He shot a final-round 6-under 64 at Kasugai Country Club to win gold by three strokes and stand on the podium as “Aegukga” played over the speakers, making his country proud.
And yes, he also avoided the one thing many athletes in South Korea work hard to avoid: military service for well over a year.
“I’m more proud that I’m able to bring a medal for my country. I tried not to think about it. I just tried to play (the) best for my country. It’s a big stepping stone. I think the pressure that I felt this week, I’ll be able to implement it in my upcoming seasons,” Kim said in a statement after the win.
According to South Korean law, all able-bodied male citizens are legally required to enlist for 18 to 21 months of military service between the ages of 18 and 28. Kim was 24 and getting closer to that deadline. But there are exemptions for certain individuals — those who are physically or psychologically challenged, for instance — and Kim, being an elite athlete, had a way out.
South Korea grants military-service exemptions to athletes who win any medal at the Olympics, or a gold medal in the Asian Games. Rather than completing the full service, they have to undergo basic military training, which lasts less than a month.
This would come as a relief for Kim, not because he doesn’t want to serve his country. He has never made such a statement. Rather, it is because of what could have happened to his golf career had he picked up a gun instead of a golf club.
In 2015, Sangmoon Bae was one of South Korea’s best golfers. He had won twice on the PGA Tour and was selected for the Presidents Cup that year. But that wasn’t enough to keep him from military service. Following a legal battle over his military status, Bae was ordered to return to South Korea and enlist.
Bae openly admitted that he wanted to be discharged from the military from the moment he enlisted. He entered the service ranked No. 88 in the world but fell to No. 1,869 by the time he returned to professional golf in 2017.
He made just five of 17 cuts that year and later admitted, “I’ve kind of lost my feel how to play golf. Not how to swing. I forgot how to play golf.”
Kim, in the Asian Games, had a lot on the line. But despite the enormous stakes, he focused on his golf and what he does best, treating the tournament like any other competition he wanted to win.
Tom Kim’s road to glory in Asia
Kim arrived in Japan straight from the Presidents Cup at Medinah, where he led the International side with four points in five matches, including a 3&2 singles victory over Wyndham Clark. The Presidents Cup is a team competition between the United States and an International team representing the rest of the world outside Europe.
In Japan, Kim quickly found his rhythm. The turning point came Friday, when he began the third round two shots off the lead and responded with an eagle and five birdies to shoot a 6-under 65. That moved him to 12 under and gave him a one-shot lead heading into the final round.
His surge also helped put South Korea atop the team standings, with two military exemptions available for the tournament’s gold-medal-winning team.
On Saturday, he finished the job. His rounds of 67, 66, 65, and 64 improved every day, and he ended at 18-under 262. He won by three shots over Japan’s Kazuki Higa, China’s Ding Wenyi, and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana. This was no fluke.
Kim finished third at the U.S. Open and won the Scottish Open in July, so he arrived as one of the field’s in-form players.
South Korea lost to China in the team event, meaning Tom Kim’s teammate S.H. Kim (Kim Seong-hyeon) missed out on a military exemption. Do-yeob Mun had already completed his military service.
Soccer fans may remember Los Angeles FC forward Son Heung-min going through a similar experience in 2018. After South Korea were knocked out of the FIFA World Cup in the group stage in Russia, he received permission from his Premier League club, Tottenham, to travel to Jakarta for the Asian Games. South Korea beat Japan 2-1 in the final to win gold, with Son and his teammates earning the much-wanted military exemption.
Interestingly, the South Korean men’s soccer team also won gold in this edition of the Games, on the same day as Kim, beating Japan (once again) in the final. South Korea finished its Asian Games campaign with 30 gold medals. A handful of military exemptions for the country’s best athletes.
Kim can now plan his seasons, majors, and team events without worrying about a lengthy interruption in his late 20s, when many golfers are entering their prime. That alone gives him significant continuity. But his own words suggest the bigger takeaway may be what he learned from the experience itself.
Kim said he can carry the pressure he faced this week into future seasons, turning a difficult week into a source of confidence.
Known as Kim Joo-hyung in South Korea, the 24-year-old can now call himself an Asian Games champion, with the military exemption he had been chasing finally secured. The question now is what comes next. With that obligation no longer hanging over his career, Kim can plan his future without interruption and focus fully on his career on the PGA Tour.