The abiding image of the 105th US PGA Championship may not involve the victor. Step forward Tom Kim.
During a remarkable episode in the latter stages of the first day’s play, the world No 19 emerged caked in mud after trying to find his ball in what closely resembled swamp land on Oak Hill’s sixth hole. Kim had stumbled and for little reward; he failed to even retrieve his errant tee shot.
Kim was subsequently seen rinsing himself off in a nearby stream and discarding his shirt. Thankfully, he had a sweater in his golf bag. He played the closing three holes of his round – Kim had started on the 10th – in level par, for a three over total, with trousers rolled up and soil stains throughout his lower body. Kim burst into fits of laughter when informed most of the hilarious scene had been captured on the tournament’s live broadcast and gone viral as a result. “Are you kidding me?” he said. “Unbelievable. And all for a ball.”
The 20-year-old added: “It’s a major championship and I’m fighting for every single stroke. It could be the difference of me having a chance to win on Sunday or making the cut. I was told it was in the mud. And if I’m able to hit a shot, I’m doing everything I can to do it. So I definitely tried. But it was very unfortunate. I couldn’t even find the ball.
Out of context golf 🤣 pic.twitter.com/HbBP6XzcoN
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“Once my foot went in, there was no looking back. As soon as my foot went in, it was kind of sketchy. I had to crawl, use every part of my body to get out.”
On the follow-up and impromptu bath, Kim said: “It couldn’t get any worse. I was wet enough, so I thought I might as well just go in the water and wash myself off.
“It’s pretty embarrassing. But I wouldn’t change it for the world because I don’t regret anything I did. I think I would have regretted it more not trying to go in there. Every single shot matters so much to me.”
