Tom Kim shot a final-round 6-under 64 at Kasugai Country Club in Japan on Saturday to win the individual gold medal at the Asian Games by three strokes, earning an exemption from mandatory military service.
“I came here believing that if I just did my thing, things would work out well in the end,” Kim told reporters. “I tried to maintain that mindset throughout and just play my game.”
In South Korea, able-bodied males once they turn 19 are usually required to serve in the military for up to 21 months before the age of 28, but Asian Games winners receive a government exemption and would only have to complete basic training.
Kim, 24, shot his low round of the week in the final round to finish at 18-under 262. The four-time PGA Tour winner, who won
the Genesis Scottish Open in July, said he woke up to a text message from Tiger Woods, his Jupiter Links teammate in TGL, who wrote, “Just be you. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Kim said he hadn’t responded yet but had formulated a plan. “I think I will send him a photo of me biting my gold medal.”
Exemption from full military service for sports stars was introduced in 1973 in an effort to improve South Korea’s athletic performance after a dismal showing at the 1972 Olympics.
Kim won his Sunday singles match over Wyndham Clark at the Presidents Cup on Sunday 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.
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.
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Tom Kim wins Asian Games gold to avoid military duty
