Tom Kim won men’s individual gold at the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday, securing an exemption from South Korea’s mandatory military service after a final-round 6-under 64 at Kasugai Country Club in Japan.
The 24-year-old finished at 18-under 262, three shots clear of Japan’s Kazuki Higa, China’s Ding Wenyi and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana, who tied for second at 15 under.
Higa took silver and Kaewkanjana bronze after a playoff.
Kim, who led by one shot into the last day, mixed five birdies with an eagle, including an eagle 3 at the par-5 13th that stretched his lead, before a bogey at the 17th and a closing par. He then roared in relief.
The victory mattered far beyond the medal. Able-bodied South Korean men are generally required to complete 18 to 21 months of military service before a set age. Athletes who win Asian Games gold, or any Olympic medal, are exempt from full service and need only complete basic training of about a month. Kim had come close at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing tied for eighth at Le Golf National, short of the podium that would have settled the issue then.
Kim flew to Japan almost immediately after the Presidents Cup, where he closed out Wyndham Clark in singles. He later said he tried to keep the exemption out of his head and play for the country.
“I tried not to think about it,” he said. “I just tried to play the best for my country.” He also called the final day “the longest day I think I’ve ever had in my life,” and said he was prouder of bringing home a medal than of the personal relief.
A text from Tiger Woods, his TGL teammate, urged him to “just be you.” Kim said he planned to reply with a photo of himself biting the gold medal.
South Korea did not win the team event so teammate S.H. Kim did not earn the same exemption. The third member of the side, Mun Do-yeob, had already completed his service. Kim’s fellow PGA Tour players Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim had secured exemptions with team gold at the previous Asian Games, held in 2023.
Kim, a four-time PGA Tour winner who captured the Genesis Scottish Open in July, withdrew from this week’s Baycurrent Classic in Japan.
