South Korea’s Tom Kim was pictured fighting back the tears after finishing eighth in an absorbing finale to the men’s golf competition at the Paris Olympics this evening.
In a tense final round, Scottie Scheffler came out on top to clinch the gold medal for the United States after shooting a course record-equalling nine-under 62.
Tommy Fleetwood, who was tied with Scheffler heading into the 17th hole, claimed the silver medal for Team GB and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama took bronze after ending 17 under at Le Golf National.
A podium finish would have seen Kim avoid mandatory military service in his native South Korea – and an uninterrupted PGA Tour career – but the 22-year-old finished the day down in eighth after a catastrophic double-bogey on the last hole.
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Scheffler tried his best to console Kim, one of his closest friends in the sport, after clinching the victory and the South Korean was visibly distraught in the clubhouse.
‘I’ve never been really emotional after a round,’ Kim said after the final round.
‘I think these emotions are surprising but I think it’s just all the hard work I’ve done this year to put myself in this position, those things are coming out.
‘Just the things Scottie said to me after the round really kind of came out and I’m just trying to hold it together.’
Korean men are required to be conscripted before turning 28, meaning Kim still has opportunities to swerve mandatory military service at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan and the 2028 Summer Olympics in the US.
‘It doesn’t worry me at all,’ Kim said before the final round when asked about the prospect of being conscripted.
‘It’s the way our country works, and good golf takes care of everything.’
Kim’s fellow countryman, Bae Sang-moon, was forced into a 21-month period of conscription in 2015, despite winning several PGA events.
‘Just because it happened to him doesn’t mean it happens to other people. You can’t say that it affected him at all,’ Kim added.
‘There could be different things that could have happened. I’m not really thinking about it. It’s not on my mind at all, I’m just trying to focus on my game.’
Kim’s compatriot, Son Heung-min, who plays club football for Tottenham, had once appeared set for full conscription but managed to avoid the full two years of training after after captaining South Korea to glory at the Asian Games in 2018.
‘It was a good experience,’ Son told Spurs’ official website after serving a three-week period of military service.
‘I couldn’t say everything I did but I really enjoyed it.
‘The guys were nice, the three weeks were tough but I tried to enjoy the three weeks. I don’t know how the people felt but for me three weeks has been long. But it was a good experience and I enjoyed it.
‘Of course, on the first day we didn’t know each other so it was a bit weird.
‘But we got to know each other, you have to spend every day together, in one room, 10 people, we were very close, working together, helping each other.
‘The time was fantastic. On the first day the other guys couldn’t even speak to me but afterwards they were joking with me, and in the end we were enjoying everyone together.’
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