Three-time PGA Tour winner Tom Kim damaged his locker after finishing runner-up at the Genesis Championship in Incheon, South Korea.
The 22-year-old lost to Byeong-Hun An in a playoff Sunday after lipping out a putt for birdie on the 72nd hole. An then came back and made birdie on the par-5 18th to beat Kim’s bogey and claim the title at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club. Per Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency, Kim broke his locker door in frustration, causing it to fall off its hinges, after returning from the course. Kim congratulated An, his International Team Presidents Cup teammate, before heading into the locker room.
“After the loss I was frustrated, yes absolutely, but I can assure you with absolute truth that I had no intent of damaging any part of the locker not a single bit. I addressed it with the DP World Tour and the KPGA right after the incident saying that the door came off,” Kim said in a statement posted on Instagram.
Kim indicated he will pay for the damages. The KPGA Tour, per Yonhap News Agency, is also considering disciplinary action against the South Korean star, who was its player of the year in 2021 before embarking on his PGA Tour career. The Genesis Championship was co-hosted by the KPGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
Tom Kim lips out on 18 for victory.
A play-off between himself and Byeong Hun An will decide the title. #GenesisChampionship pic.twitter.com/HC6EJK46Uv
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 27, 2024
Kim’s outburst in Korea comes a month after the PGA Tour player accused unnamed American players of cursing at him during the Presidents Cup in Montreal. “I think the start of the round was definitely a little harder, but as it got towards the end, it got a little feisty out there. I could hear some players cursing at us. That part wasn’t really — I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there. But it’s all part of the fun,” he said. Kim later apologized to U.S. captain Jim Furyk and world No. 2 Xander Schauffele for the comments during a private conversation on the 18th green at Royal Montreal.
Kim also got into an exchange of words with Scottie Scheffler, one of his good friends on tour, during an earlier match that weekend.
Kim emerged on the PGA Tour as a bright young talent in 2022, winning two titles within a three-month span. He has not won a PGA Tour event since the 2023 Shriner’s Children’s Open, but he finished runner-up to Scheffler in June after a sudden-death playoff at the Travelers Championship. Kim is currently ranked No. 25 in the world.
(Top photo: Han Myung-Gu / Getty Images)
