Tom Kim Wins Asian Games Gold, Earns Military Exemption — SkimNews
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- Tom Kim won Asian Games gold at Kasugai Country Club in Japan, finishing 18 under after a final-round 64 to win by three strokes over K Higa, W Ding, and S Kaewkanjana.
- The 24-year-old carded five birdies and an eagle, absorbing a bogey on 17 before tapping in for par on the last and letting out a roar of relief.
- South Korea requires males to serve 18-21 months before age 28, but Asian Games champions and Olympic medalists receive an exemption requiring only basic training under one month — a rule that previously applied to Tottenham's Son Heung-min after his 2018 gold.
- Kim rushed from the Presidents Cup in the United States to tee off in Japan, managing just six hours of sleep across a 14-hour time difference.
- The world number 32 has already won four PGA Tour titles and the Scottish Open in July, but finished eighth at the 2024 Paris Olympics after a day-one tie for third, narrowly missing the same exemption.
- Kim's compatriot SH Kim, 28, missed out on a military exemption as South Korea could only manage silver in the team event alongside Tom Kim and Mun Do-yeob.
Why it matters: Kim avoided 18-21 months of mandatory service that would have paused his PGA Tour career. For South Korean male athletes, the rule makes Asian Games gold — not Olympic top-10s — the career-defining prize, and Kim's eighth-place Paris finish showed the Olympic route alone wouldn't have bought the same exemption. His six-hour-sleep sprint from the Presidents Cup to Kasugai delivered career continuity.
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