Pressure, stress, and the burden of winning! To him, being a medalist means an exemption. No, it is not an exemption to play in a certain tournament. For Tom Kim, the stakes are as high as freedom from undergoing mandatory military service. 

The 22-year-old South Korean golfer is a lurking threat. The leaderboard at the Paris Olympics is witnessing a tussle between Rahm and Schauffele; Tom Kim is not far behind. With a difference of only four strokes, Kim is hanging at T6 as he enters the final round. Losing at the very fag end would mean a step closer to leaving golf behind and going to the military for two years!

NUCLR Golf shared an X post to remind the audience of the same. They wrote, “Tom Kim (T6) and Ben An (T17) are in need of podium finishes tomorrow to avoid serving 21 months of mandatory military service mandated by South Korea.”

Each and every South Korean man between the ages of 18 and 35 is required to serve in the military for 21 months. No exceptions are made, apart from those who bring the nation some international honor! A medal at the Olympics thus becomes a key to unlocking that freedom for Tom Kim. However, as much as the community is concerned about it, Kim wishes to play only for the sake of his passion. He once stated, “It’s not on my mind at all and I’m trying to focus on my game.”

Fans, however, are very worried about not seeing Kim on the greens for 21 months! Their reaction thus remains sympathetic and shocked at the same time.

Golf community roots for Tom Kim

Sharing three medal emojis, a fan showed their support for Kim but at the same time brought up the unfortunate career graph of Sangmoon Bae and stated, “Rooting for Tom Kim tomorrow. Sang-Moon Bae was epic on PGAT until he had to complete his service. Never the same. Let’s get the 🥇🥈🥉 Tom!!” The fan feared that Kim would suffer the same fate as Bae. The latter is also a South Korean national. Back in 2015, he applied for an exemption from the military on the basis of his residency in the USA. However, the South Korean government did not approve the appeal.

The result? Bae had to enlist for his mandatory military service for two years, from November 2015 to August 2017. It was the peak of Bae’s career, but upon returning, the PGA Tour pro never fully found his past glorious form. Another fan highlighted the time period of the military service and chimed in their thoughts, “Ok. We gotta do the right thing here boys. We can’t lose Tom Kim for 2 years on tour.”

One netizen urged the PGA Tour to lend a helping hand to golfers in such matters and stated, “Hard to believe the PGA tour doesn’t work with some of these dudes to get them citizenship,” argued another fan. They questioned why these South Korean golfers do not get any support from the PGA Tour and get US citizenship. Even though Tom Kim has been based in Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand, he doesn’t hold any other citizenship and has his fate sealed.

Someone else suggested how they wished Kim would achieve the finish he wished for. They stated, “Really hoping Tom Kim gets that finish. Seems like a real good dude.” Tom Kim has been quite an amiable figure among the newer generation of golfers. Even when he was told about Moon Bae, the golfer did not show any disrespect or doubts, instead, he answered the question with the utmost maturity and grace and said, “You can’t say that it affected him at all. There could be different things that happened.”

Even about his own game, Kim is not as bothered about getting an exemption as he only wishes to focus on his game. Yet another fan pointed out that even if Tom is not a medalist here, he should have plenty of chances in the future. They reflected, “Tom will likely win gold at the next Asian games, getting his exemption the same way Sungjae and Si Woo did.” In the 2023 Asian Games, Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim won a team gold medal, and Sunjae Im also received an individual silver honor. With those medals, both South Koreans were exempt from their military service. Hence, the fan suggested that it will not be an end for Tom Kim even if the worst happens in the Olympics!

Do you think Tom Kim will be able to overcome the differences and win a medal at the Olympics? Let us know in the comments below.