Tom Kim has apologised for his angry outburst during the FedEx St Jude Championship in which he damaged a green at TPC Southwind.
On the bubble to make it into the BMW Championship, Kim was battling his own game and the course as he looked to maintain his top-50 spot during the final round.
But with birdies not flowing with as much ease as he'd have liked, the Korean's frustrations came to a head midway through his round.
After Kim had missed a short birdie putt on the 12th, he thumped the turf with his putter and made a noticeable gash a couple of feet from the hole. Strike one. Strike two occurred after the 22-year-old tapped in for par and walked off without having repaired the area.
Kim, who is still widely considered to be a pretty affable guy regardless, was heavily criticized online by fans who felt it was an immature error of judgement.
Tom Kim frustrated after missing a putt.. pic.twitter.com/rrtPcYfltgAugust 18, 2024
And, addressing the incident on social media after missing out on the BMW Championship by just a handful of points, Kim admitted he had made a mistake after not realizing the significance of his actions.
Posting to his Instagram story, Kim wrote: “Hi everyone. It’s been brought to my attention about my frustration shown yesterday on the 12th green.
“I will never lie to my peers and fans because I have too much respect and gratitude towards them. I wasn’t aware that I had made that big of a damage on the green 'cause, if I did, I would’ve never just left without repairing it. But I was clearly wrong and will take full responsibility of my actions and will be better going forward.
"Thank you and I apologize again and thank you for your support throughout a tough year.”
The final few words of Kim's apology were particularly telling, especially given he had missed out on avoiding mandatory military service in his home country by a handful of strokes at the Olympic Games, finishing eighth after drifting away late on Sunday.
Kim had also failed to win on the PGA Tour for the first time in a season since joining, posting only two top-10s - both of which arrived late on - as he struggled to maintain his rookie form.
Tom Kim apologies for damaging the 12th green yesterday pic.twitter.com/ku38BGS0XQAugust 20, 2024
Speaking after his final round, the 22-year-old admitted he had been worn down by a difficult season and the pressures involved but vowed to improve and ensure nothing like this ever happens again.
He said: “This season has just been — it’s just been like this. I’ve played really good golf, and then had some tough finishes. I feel like 2024 has really kicked me in the butt.
“It’s been a long road. Mentally I just don’t think I was sharp enough for these past few weeks. I played nine weeks in a row. On my eighth week of it, I played in a final group holding the lead every day [at the Travelers], and then went in a playoff, and played the Olympics. I’ve been through a lot.
“51, 52, 50, it’s not going to matter. I’m just looking forward to getting some rest and getting ready for next year.”
