Tom Kim One Shot Clear At Asian Games With Exemption At Stake

Tom Kim shot a third-round 65 to move into a one-stroke lead at the Asian Games in Japan, putting himself on the brink of a gold medal that would exempt him from South Korea's compulsory military service.

Kim flew straight from the Presidents Cup in Chicago to Kasugai Country Club, a 14-hour time difference he appears to have shrugged off entirely, according to Golf Monthly.

His form has sharpened with every round of the tournament, with scores of 67, 66 and 65 taking him to 12 under par. Saturday's round included five birdies and an eagle, and Golf Monthly reports it could have been lower still had two gettable birdie putts on the 14th and 18th found the hole.

That tally leaves him a single shot clear of overnight leader Wang Wei-hsuan of Taiwan and Japan's Kazuki Higa, who share second place heading into Sunday's final round.

The stakes extend well beyond the leaderboard. South Korean men are required to complete 18 to 21 months of military service before turning 28, but the government grants exemptions to gold medallists at the Asian Games and to any medallist at the Olympics, with only a short period of basic training required instead.

At 24 and ranked world No.32, Kim is eager to avoid a career interruption of close to two years at a stage when he is established on the PGA Tour, where he has four wins including this year's Genesis Scottish Open.

He has two routes to an exemption in Japan. As well as leading the individual event, Kim and his South Korean teammates hold a one-shot advantage in the team competition going into the closing round.

Victory in the team event would also clear his compatriot SH Kim of service, though their other teammate, Mun Do-yeob, has already completed his national service obligations.

Kim came close to a different route to exemption at the Paris 2024 Olympics, sitting third after the opening round before slipping to an eighth-place finish, missing out on the medal that would have carried the same benefit.

He now goes into the final 18 holes at Kasugai Country Club with both the individual gold and the team title within reach, and with considerably more than a medal riding on the outcome.