Tom Kim has apologised for his angry outburst during the FedEx St Jude Championship in which he damaged a green at TPC Southwind.
On the bubble to make it into the BMW Championship, Kim was battling his own game and the course as he looked to maintain his top-50 spot during the final round.
But with birdies not flowing with as much ease as he'd have liked, the Korean's frustrations came to a head midway through his round.
After Kim had missed a short birdie putt on the 12th, he thumped the turf with his putter and made a noticeable gash a couple of feet from the hole. Strike one. Strike two occurred after the 22-year-old tapped in for par and walked off without having repaired the area.
Kim, who is still widely considered to be a pretty affable guy regardless, was heavily criticized online by fans who felt it was an immature error of judgement.
And, addressing the incident on social media after missing out on the BMW Championship by just a handful of points , Kim admitted he had made a mistake after not realizing the significance of his actions.
Posting to his Instagram story, Kim wrote: “Hi everyone. It’s been brought to my attention about my frustration shown yesterday on the 12th green.
“I will never lie to my peers and fans because I have too much respect and gratitude towards them. I wasn’t aware that I had made that big of a damage on the green 'cause, if I did, I would’ve never just left without repairing it. But I was clearly wrong and will take full responsibility of my actions and will be better going forward.
"Thank you and I apologize again and thank you for your support throughout a tough year.”
The final few words of Kim's apology were particularly telling, especially given he had missed out on avoiding mandatory military service in his home country by a handful of strokes at the Olympic Games, finishing eighth after drifting away late on Sunday.
Kim had also failed to win on the PGA Tour for the first time in a season since joining, posting only two top-10s - both of which arrived late on - as he struggled to maintain his rookie form.
Speaking after his final round, the 22-year-old admitted he had been worn down by a difficult season and the pressures involved but vowed to improve and ensure nothing like this ever happens again.
He said: “This season has just been — it’s just been like this. I’ve played really good golf, and then had some tough finishes. I feel like 2024 has really kicked me in the butt.
“It’s been a long road. Mentally I just don’t think I was sharp enough for these past few weeks. I played nine weeks in a row. On my eighth week of it, I played in a final group holding the lead every day [at the Travelers], and then went in a playoff, and played the Olympics. I’ve been through a lot.
“51, 52, 50, it’s not going to matter. I’m just looking forward to getting some rest and getting ready for next year.”
Local Memphis, TN
Most Popular
Comments / 0