Golf team faces tough competition from South Korea, Japan
THE Philippine men’s golf team, bannered by the country’s No. 1 player Miguel Tabuena, begins its campaign in the 20th Asian Games on Wednesday.
While Tabuena carries a wealth of experience, the most significant being a season-long campaign in LIV Golf this year, tempering expectations may be the best way out of possible disappointment for Filipino fans.
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This is because the golf competition is going to be tough and grueling with so many outstanding players in the field, all seeking the gold and, at least for one player, stakes that are higher than usual.
Tom Kim, who trained at Manila Southwoods before becoming a PGA star, will not settle for less than the gold medal. The reason: it is his ticket out of a two-year mandatory military service in his home country of South Korea, which is due soon.
Kim, 24, is arriving just over a day from the President’s Cup in the United States where he starred for the International squad, winning four of five matches, including singles against major champion Wyndham Clark.
To illustrate just how important the Asian Games is to him, Kim left the US before the awarding ceremony to catch a flight to Japan and be in time for Wednesday’s opening. Had the International team won, he would not have been around for the awarding and celebration.
For many male South Korean athletes, avoiding military service is vital because getting disrupted may affect their career as what appears to have happened to some,
For instance, military conscription reportedly stalled the promising career of Sang Moon Bae who won twice on the PGA Tour and qualified for the 2015 Presidents Cup before a South Korean court ruled against his claim for US residency.
Then there was Seung Yul Noh, who won the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He was not the same again after military service and now plies his trade on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour.
A victory here will exempt Kim from military training. Under South Korean laws, able-bodied men must undergo military service for 18-21 months. But they are exempt if they win a gold medal in the men’s individual or team competition in the Asian Games and also if they win any medal in the Olympics.
Kim placed fourth in the last Olympics in Paris, missing the medal by four shots.
Kim, who is world No. 31, is joined in the Korean team by Do Yeob Mun, who, like Tabuena, played in LIV Golf this year, and S. H. Kim who has some starts on the PGA Tour.
Besides Tabuena, the Philippine team will also have Justin de los Santos, a regular campaigner in the Japanese Tour, and Carl Jano Corpus, one of the country’s rising young golfers.
The tournament will be played at the Kasugi Country Club where all competitors had their practice the past few days.
Besides Korea, which has won 39 medals since golf became part of the Asian Games in 1982, there is also Japan, winner of 21 medals.
The Japanese bid will be headed by Keita Nakajima, who is a regular PGA Tour player; Kazuki Higa, winner of the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2025; and Taishi Moto, a college player for Arizona.
By the way, during the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, the Koreans, bannered by Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im, won the team event by 25 shots.
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