TOM Kim knew what he wanted.
In the wink of an eye, and some hurried goodbyes, he was on board a plane headed to Japan.
The South Korean star did not wait for the President’s Cup to be officially finished in the US last Sunday. What was waiting on the other side of the globe was a golf tournament that was so important for him and his career that his teammates gladly gave him their blessings and wished him luck.
He did not disappoint. Tom Kim got what he wanted: a gold medal in the Asian Games on Saturday and, perhaps more important, a military service exemption.
Kim, 24, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, played like a man possessed in the final round and shot a 6-under-par 64 to win by three strokes.
Under South Korean law, males, if they are capable, must serve in the military of up to 21 months before the age of 28. Asian Games winners and Olympic medalists, however, are exempted and would only have to complete weeks of basic training.
Left in Kim’s wake was a chasing pack who tried but failed to match his torrid performance. The Korean ace, the main cog in the International’s near upset of the formidable US team in last week’s President’s Cup with four wins and a draw, was 4 under on the front nine.
He made his fifth birdie on the 11th, and then iced his day with an eagle on the par-5 13th. Though bogeyed the 17th hole, his only miscue, it had no consequences as he finished 6-under-par 64.
His tournament total was 262, 18 under for the tournament.
Tied for second were Japan’s Kasuki Higa (66), China’s Wenyi Ding (64) and Thailand’ Sadom Kaewkanjana (63), all at 15 under par and identical 265 total.
The team gold, however, went to China with an aggregate of 532 in the event where the best two of three scores counted in the team total.
South Korea placed second, two strokes back at 534, and third was Japan at 537.
The Philippines finished ninth overall in what can be described essentially as a dismal performance by a team made up of Miguel Tabuena, Justine delos Santos and Carl Jano Corpus.
De los Santos was the highest placed Filipino player at 15th with his total of 277, 3 under par. Tabuena was in a tie for 27th at 282 (2 over) while Corpuz had 284 (4 over) and tied for 31st.
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