Tom Kim’s victory at the 2026 Asian Games came with more than a gold medal. By claiming the top spot, the 24-year-old also earned an exemption from mandatory military service in his home country of South Korea. Kim fired a final-round 64 to sign for a tournament total of 18 under, good for a three-stroke triumph over three other golfers.
In South Korea, most able-bodied men are required to serve 18 months in the military. Athletes are granted an exemption if they win a gold medal at the Asian Games or a medal of any color at the Olympics. In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kim came close to earning an exemption but ultimately settled for an eighth-place finish at Le Golf National.
Kim is now required to complete only four weeks of basic training.
“I tried not to think about it,” Kim said. “I just tried to play the best for my country. It’s a big stepping stone. I think the pressure that I felt this week, I’ll be able to implement it in my upcoming seasons.”
In both the individual and team competition, Kim saw his name atop the leaderboard heading into the final round. On the individual front, he got off to a roaring start. The right-hander turned in 4-under 31, tacked on a birdie on No. 11 and penciled a big bird onto the scorecard on the par-5 13th at the Kasugai Country Club East Course.
Kim had a four-stroke lead with four holes to play and dropped only one shot coming in to sign for his 6-under number in the final round.
The South Korean team, however, did not remain atop the leaderboard as Kim did. His round of 64 was accompanied by Doyeob Mun’s 70 to settle into a second-place position behind China, who utilized rounds of 64 and 66 on the last day to better South Korea by two strokes. Mun, 35, has already fulfilled his military duty, but the third member of the team, S.H. Kim, is not as unfortunate.
Traveling from the Presidents Cup to the Asian Games, Kim joins a couple of his International team members in earning an exemption through this method. In the 2022 Asian Games — which was played in 2023 — both Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim earned exemptions by winning the gold medal in the team competition.
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