Tom Kim is in contention for a gold medal that would keep him out of the South Korean military. The 24-year-old shot a 4-under 66 in Thursday’s second round at Kasugai Country Club in Japan to reach 7 under at the halfway point. That puts him in a tie for third, two back of co-leaders Wang Wei-hsuan of Chinese Taipei and Ding Wenyi of China.
Kim made five birdies and one bogey Thursday after opening with a 3-under 67. Gold in either the individual or team competition would excuse him from mandatory military service. Under South Korean law, most able-bodied men must serve 18 to 21 months.
Athletes can earn the exemption two ways: any medal at the Olympics or a gold at the Asian Games. Able-bodied men are generally expected to begin service by age 28. Kim has already come close once, closing with a 68 at the 2024 Paris Olympics and missing a bronze medal by four shots.
The team race is just as tight. South Korea sits third at 14 under through 36 holes, while Japan leads at 16 under and China sits one shot back at 15 under. Each country fields three players, but only the two lowest scores count toward the team total each day.
Kim isn’t the only Korean with something on the line. S.H. Kim, whose Korean name is Kim Seong-hyeon, is also playing for the exemption and sits at 1 under. He told the Associated Press he has been dealing with knee and back injuries.
“I am 100% nervous,” S.H. Kim said, via AP. “A lot of pressure.” He wasn’t optimistic about the individual event, adding, “Team gold is easier.”
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The third member of the team is Mun Do-yeob, who is also 7 under. The 35-year-old already completed his military service and made it clear who he’s playing for this week. “I already finished my military service so I don’t really think about the military (exemption),” Mun said, via AP. “But I want to play good, so we make our team get a gold medal … to make sure they don’t go to the military.”
Kim’s week started on another continent. He went 4-1-0 for the International team at the Presidents Cup at Medinah, beating Wyndham Clark in Sunday singles. Per AP, Kim was scheduled to leave Chicago late Sunday afternoon to make the trip to Japan.
The U.S. went on to win the Cup, and Kim teed off in Japan three days later. “It’s just a lot of golf,” Kim said after his opening round.
Thursday didn’t make things easier. Slow play forced Kim’s group to finish under temporary floodlights, and the final group needed more than five hours to complete its round.
Kim arrived in Japan in form after winning the Genesis Scottish Open in July for his fourth PGA Tour title. Japan’s lineup includes PGA Tour member Keita Nakajima and Kazuki Higa, who won the Asian Tour money list in 2025.
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Two of Kim’s Presidents Cup teammates have already cleared the hurdle. Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim led South Korea to team gold at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, winning by 25 strokes. That edition was the first to allow professionals.
Others weren’t as fortunate. Sangmoon Bae won the 2015 Frys.com Open for his second PGA Tour title and earned $2.6 million that season. After the Military Manpower Administration rejected his request to extend his overseas travel permit, he played the 2015 Presidents Cup in South Korea and went straight into the army.
Bae served 21 months as a rifleman. In his first season back, he made just five cuts in 17 starts and finished 202nd in the FedEx Cup standings, losing his card. He won the Boise Open on the Web.com Tour Finals to earn it back.
“I thought it would not take that long (to get my game back), but I have struggled for almost a year,” Bae said after that win. By 2023, he was playing the PGA Tour season under a past winner exemption with low status.
Seung-yul Noh followed a similar path. He won the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans and left the Tour in late 2017 to begin his service. When he returned to the PGA Tour in 2020, he opened with four straight missed cuts.
Noh, now 35, is playing the Korn Ferry Tour this season. He currently sits 46th in the points standings, and only the top 20 at season’s end earn PGA Tour cards.
Two rounds remain at Kasugai. The men’s competition concludes Saturday, with both the individual and team gold medals still up for grabs.
