Tom Kim has issued a statement and apology after the PGA Tour star was criticized for hitting his putter into a green during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday.
Kim raised eyebrows at TPC Southwind after a now-viral video on social media saw him take a small divot out of the putting surface at the Memphis course. The incident occurred on the 12th hole in the final round, after the South Korean missed a putt for birdie, taking out his frustration on his surroundings.
Commenting on the incident on Monday, he posted on Instagram: "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 had 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." In the aftermath of his moment of madness, Kim's etiquette was questioned online by golf fans, with some even calling on the youngster to be penalized for the outburst.
It proved to be the beginning of the end for Kim, who saw his season collapse over the space of three holes. Playing to earn a spot in the second FedEx Cup playoff at Castle Pines Golf Club, Kim's season unraveled at the 16th on Sunday, finishing his round - and season - with bogey, double bogey, double bogey.
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![https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=22cpIr_0v3oSw0m00](https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&url=22cpIr_0v3oSw0m00)
Prior to this point, things were going well for the youngster, who found himself four-under-par through 15 holes, having gone bogey-free until his first mishap. Even after his missed putt at the 12th, a frustrated Kim went on to make a birdie a whole later, before things went wrong three holes later.
Having birdied the par-five 16th twice in his previous three rounds, the South Korean endured bunker trouble on Sunday, leading to a bogey, six. A frustrated Kim then made his way to the penultimate hole, where things soon got even worse.
Despite finding the fairway, errant approaches and a three-putt saw him make a double bogey before another followed one hole later to see him finish in a tie for 50th at one-under for the week. Sadly for Kim, this brought an end to his campaign, missing out on one of the 50 spots on offer at the BMW Championship.
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