A warning for Tom Kim: why South Korean golfers fear mandatory military service
After last week's Presidents Cup, South Korean golfer Tom Kim rushed to the Asian Games hoping to earn exemption from mandatory military service — following the path once attempted by Sangmoon Bae, whose career was derailed by his years in the army.
A hasty departure from the Presidents Cup
At last week's Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club, Tom Kim did not stay to celebrate or commiserate with his International teammates after the tournament ended, according to Golf Digest. The Internationals had built a three-point lead through the first three days, but the Americans rallied on Sunday to win. Kim himself earned four points — the most of any player on either team — yet he had no time to linger, as he had an evening flight to Japan booked for that same day.
Racing the clock before the Asian Games
The reason was the Asian Games, which began on Tuesday and are held every four years, including golf competitions for men and women. For South Korean male athletes, winning at the Games — individually or as part of a team — brings exemption from the country's mandatory military service, which has applied since 1957 to all able-bodied men aged 18 to 35 and lasts nearly two years. The only other way out is an Olympic medal of any color; at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kim finished tied for eighth, missing the podium. The 24-year-old is coming off a strong season, having won the Genesis Scottish Open and finished 14th in the FedEx Cup standings.
The cautionary example of Sangmoon Bae
According to Golf Digest, the clearest illustration of what military service can do to a career is Sangmoon Bae, a 16-time winner worldwide. He reached a career-high ranking of 26th in the world in 2011, joined the PGA Tour in 2012, and won the Byron Nelson in 2013. He made South Korea's Presidents Cup team in 2015, but after losing a court battle, he began a 21-month term of service that November, serving as a rifleman despite never having held a gun before. He was ranked 88th in the world before leaving and 1,869th upon his return. In the 2017 PGA Tour season he made only five of 17 cuts and admitted he felt he had lost his ability to play. He did win unexpectedly on the Korn Ferry Tour in Boise in 2018, but lost his PGA Tour card soon after. Now 40, Bae made just one PGA Tour start this season and missed the cut, while in Asia he is currently on a streak of five missed cuts in a row.
