LAS VEGAS — Sure, there’s a little added pressure for Tom Kim this week as he prepares for his first defense of a PGA Tour title, something he couldn’t do while injured during the 2023 Wyndham Championship.
Kim was all smiles during a media session Tuesday at the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin, reminiscing about last year’s scintillating performance when he became the second youngest player to win twice on the PGA Tour since Ralph Guldahl in 1932, the first since Tiger Woods in 1996 to win twice before turning 21, and just the second winner on Tour since Lee Trevino in 1974 to play 72 holes without recording a bogey.
But while he’s feeling some extra juice this week as a former champ, it will pale in comparison to the pressure he’ll face when he plays in the Olympics and/or the Asian Games.
Less than two weeks ago, Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im helped their native South Korea win the gold medal in golf. That gave the PGA Tour pros an exemption from the two-year mandatory military service that the country requires.
All able-bodied males are obligated to serve between 18 and 21 months 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.
That means Kim, who hails from Seoul and is now 21, will need to pull off a similar feat or he’ll be forced into military duty.
“That’s a great question,” Kim said when asked about his status on Tuesday. “We’ll know more in the future.”
He hasn’t played since the Tour Championship, but it has been a banner year for the phenom, one that’s seen Kim post top-25 finishes in each of his last five starts, including a T-2 at the Open at Royal Liverpool. But that still won’t be enough to get him out of the obligation.
And while some have come back from active duty to compete on the PGA Tour, some struggled after the time away. Seung Yul-Noh and Sang-Moon Bae are two Korean golfers who won on Tour but haven’t been able to regain their form after taking two years away from competition.
Thursday's Featured Groups @ShrinersOpen:
10:23 AM ET – Akshay Bhatia / J. T. Poston / Eric Cole
10:34 AM ET – Si Woo Kim / Cam Davis / Scott Stallings𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙤𝙤𝙣
3:13 PM ET – Luke List / Nick Taylor / Tom Kim
4:19 PM ET – Kevin Roy / Trevor Werbylo / Lexi Thompson pic.twitter.com/D9mj4VYkWY— PGA TOUR LIVE (@PGATOURLIVE) October 10, 2023
“So obviously those medals help. I think it depends on which medal. As I’m aware, with them having achieving gold they have exemptions for the military,” Kim said. “Asian Games looks like it is gold, but I think from the Olympics, from what I’m aware, a medal should take care of it.”
For now, Kim is simply vying to become only the second player to win the Shriners in consecutive years. Jim Furyk holds the distinction of being the only player to win the event in back-to-back seasons when he did so in 1998 and then again in 1999.
And according to the oddsmakers, many of whom work just a few miles east of Summerlin on the Vegas Strip, Kim is the favorite to win again, edging out Ludvig Aberg. While Kim can certainly muster a defense, it’s unlikely he’ll navigate the course without a bogey again as he did last year. Aside from Kim, only J.T. Poston has played an entire four rounds without a blip in the last half-century when he did so at the 2019 Wyndham.
“It’s definitely not an expectation to have this week,” Kim said. “It’s so easy to set them so high because I didn’t make a single bogey, 24 birdies, and you kind of have a feeling where you need to do it again.
“Bogeys happen. I can’t try to not make a bogey.”
