Tom Kim wins Asian Games gold, secures military exemption

South Korea’s 24‑year‑old golfer Tom Kim secured the Asian Games men’s golf gold medal in a stunning performance that will spare him the obligatory 18‑21 months of military service.

Kim finished the final round with an 18‑under‑par 64, three strokes ahead of Japan’s K Higa. His final score of 18‑under was the best of the competition.

Though he suffered a bogey on the 17th, Kim had already built a cushion with five birdies and an eagle, allowing him to tie for the lead and then close the match by par on the final green.

In South Korea, able‑bodied men must normally serve in the armed forces before the age of 28. But champions of the Asian Games or Olympic medalists receive a short exemption bar worth only a month of basic training.

Kim achieved this after flying direct from the US to Japan and battling a 14‑hour time zone shift, resting just six hours before tee‑off.

With the exemption in place, the world number 32 can continue his rise on the PGA Tour, where he has already claimed four titles and a triumph at the Scottish Open.