MEDINAH, Ill. – It was a sad scene: A group of golfers, dressed in black, milled in silence. Their caddies and their families, who were standing next to them. And all watching as their red-shirted counterparts hit the 18th green at Medinah Country Club, Team USA celebrated a victory that Team International had desperately wanted for them.
A scene only made sadder because one of his teammates had already taken the road.
Tom Kim had played his heart out. He had earned four points for his team – the most for any golfer on either side – and was hanging on as long as he could. And then, when he left first, it was for a good reason.
However, there was a little more melancholy in his absence, knowing that the International team was missing the player who had been at its center, competitive and emotional, all week. Kim, like many of his teammates, speaks with reverence and gratitude of these weeks; they only come once every two years and bring a good dose of camaraderie to the blessed, but lonely, existence of a pro golfer. I would have been happy to have Kim there in victory, and it would have brought comfort to have him in defeat.
Instead, Kim was off to another team competition, one with arguably higher stakes. Like the first report by Doug Ferguson of the APKim is bound for the Asian Games, where he will play for gold, and for a military exemption, alongside two of his South Korean countrymen.
Those Games starts on Wednesday in Japan. And so Kim’s flight out of Chicago was scheduled to leave at the same time as Team USA was accepting its trophy.
Before I go any further, a word about Kim’s performance on the course this week: It was outstanding. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday he was brilliant alongside his friend and teammate Si Woo Kim, serving as Si Woo’s egg ham, the two combining for a 3-1-0 record as the heart of the Internationals. And on Sunday he was even better, only going up against the in-form Wyndham Clark in the second match of the day. Through seven holes he was 1 down. At the 14th hole he was 3 up. It was also the final margin, as Kim provided the first yellow flag of the day as his team chased their first victory in a dozen editions of the Cup.
“Just be relentless. That’s what I had in my heart,” Kim said post-round. “The United States is really, really good, and there’s a reason why they’re good. They’re very stacked, and it was a tough task for everyone. I’m happy to have done my part for the team … I’m very proud. This is probably my best Presidents Cup yet.”
Kim got a lot of love all week from her partner.
“We know each other very well,” Si Woo Kim had said after a previous session. “He helps me a lot, he gives me a lot of confidence, and I think I give him a lot of confidence.”
On Sunday, international captain Geoff Ogilvy also sang Kim’s praises.
“Tom is a fantastic player,” he said. “The Kims make an incredible pair. They’re fun to watch. They bring so much energy to this team. And they’re very reliable, and they get us a lot of points … we love having them on our side.”
It just wasn’t enough. Kim closed out his match, as did Sungjae Im three games behind him. But then came a wave of red; the Internazionales have taken only half a point from the last seven games and watched as their three-point lead turned into a four-point loss.
As for the Asian Games – is everything at stake? In short, able-bodied men in South Korea are required to serve in the military in their 20s. But there are exemptions for some sportsmen and artists. An Olympic medal is one way to receive a pass. (Kim finished 8th in 2024four strokes out of the bronze medal position.) A gold medal at the Asian Games – in the individual or team competition – is another.
Kim was understandably reluctant to go into specifics. He was still focused on the Cup in hand, for one thing. For another, military exemptions are a touchy subject. But he said what the two competitions have in common is playing for a bigger purpose.
“I think when you get a chance to represent something more than yourself, it’s always an honor,” he said. “Playing for the (International) Shield, playing for the country, it doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s bigger than yourself, I think it’s something that is very honorable and something that you should always be grateful for, and I’m very appreciative, and I’m very grateful to make the team this week.
“Personally I think next week, I’m excited to go back to Asia,” he added. “I haven’t been in Asia for a long time so I’m excited to get home and see some friends and hopefully have a good week.”
Kim was only 20 years old when he made his debut in the Presidents Cup in Charlotte; he played all five sessions that week and went 2-3-0. He played four more times in Montreal, going 1-2-1. This week’s 4-1-0 effort took him over the .500 mark all-time, which is rarefied air for the International team. He also raised his record with Si Woo to a sparkling 5-2-0.
Now comes another type of team format. Kim will play alongside fellow SH Kim, who has been playing on the Korean PGA ever since his return home earlier this year, and Doyeob Moon, who played for the Korean GC at LIV Golf this year.
This is the second time the Games have hosted professional golfers. In 2023, the last time they were held, two of Tom Kim’s Presidents Cup teammates this week – Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im – were part of a team. who won from 25 shots.
“I was always scared like (expletive),” Si Woo told Ferguson earlier this yearreflecting on that victory.
This week the South Korean team expects strong competition from the host nation; Team Japan consists of current PGA Tour player Keita Nakajima, last year’s Asian Tour winner Kazuki Higa and current Arizona golfer Taishi Moto.
The good news for Kim? He will go in knowing that his game is good enough to beat the best golfers in the world.
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