Tom Kim Asian Games update: South Korean seizes 54-hole lead in Japan
Tom Kim will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the individual men's golf tournament at the Asian Games in Japan.
South Korea's Tom Kim is on the cusp of securing a gold medal at the Asian Games that would see him avoid mandatory military service.
The four-time PGA Tour winner has moved into the outright lead after a brilliant third round in Japan.
Kim carded a 5-under 65 on Friday at Kasugai Country Club to move to 12-under for the tournament and will take a one-shot lead into Saturday's final round.
The 24-year-old, whose Korean name is Kim Joo-hyung, produced five birdies and an eagle against two bogeys to move from two shots off the pace overnight to the top of the leaderboard.
Pos | Player | Country | Total |
1 | Tom Kim | South Korea | -12 (198) |
T2 | Wei-hsuan Wang | Chinese Taipei | -11 (199) |
T2 | Kazuki Higa | Japan | -11 (199) |
4 | Wenyi Ding | China | -9 (201) |
T5 | Doyeob Mun | South Korea | -8 (202) |
T5 | Keita Nakajima | Japan | -8 (202) |
T5 | Sadom Kaewkanjana | Thailand | -8 (202) |
T8 | Seshow Sen | Chinese Taipei | -7 (203) |
T8 | Yunhe Zheng | China | -7 (203) |
10 | Veer Ahlawat | India | -6 (204) |
11 | Saptak Talwar | India | -5 (205) |
T12 | Zihao Jin | China | -4 (206) |
T12 | Justin Delos Santos | Philippines | -4 (206) |
T14 | Subash Tamang | Nepal | -2 (208) |
T14 | Jonathan Wijono | Indonesia | -2 (208) |
T14 | Sung-hyun Kim | South Korea | -2 (208) |
T14 | Matthew Cheung | Hong Kong | -2 (208) |
T14 | Taichi Kho | Hong Kong | -2 (208) |
Wang Wei-hsuan of Chinese Taipei and Japan's Kazuki Higa are tied for second at 11-under, with China's Ding Wenyi a further two shots back at 9-under.
Kim's surge puts him in position to claim the individual gold medal on Saturday, which would exempt him from South Korea's mandatory military service.
A gold medal in either the individual competition or the team event would allow Kim to avoid the standard military obligation and continue his professional career without an interruption of up to 21 months.
South Korea also remains in contention for the team gold heading into the final round.
The team competition counts the two lowest scores from each country's three-man team in each round, meaning Kim's performance is again directly contributing to the national team's medal hopes.
Fellow South Korean Mun Do-yeob is 8-under individually after a third-round 69, while Kim Seong-hyeon is also competing for the team.
Mun has already completed his military service, meaning Kim and Kim Seong-hyeon are the two South Korean players seeking the military-service exemption.
Kim's latest round marks another impressive performance after an exhausting schedule that saw him travel directly from the Presidents Cup in Chicago to Japan.
He represented the International team at Medinah last week and although Geoff Ogilvy's International side were beaten 17-13, Kim was a standout performer.
He was the leading points scorer for the International side, collecting four points from five matches.
He partnered fellow South Korean Si Woo Kim in all four team matches, going 3-1, before beating Wyndham Clark 3&2 in Sunday's singles
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