Tom Kim of Korea tees off on the 6th hole during the final round of the Genesis Championship golf tournament at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, Oct. 27. AFP-Yonhap
Korean PGA Tour player Tom Kim broke his locker in apparent frustration over a playoff loss at a tournament on home soil Sunday.
A photo provided by a reader for Yonhap News Agency on Monday showed the door to Kim’s locker having fallen off the hinges inside the clubhouse at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, west of Seoul.
Kim, a three-time PGA Tour winner, had lost to countryman An Byeong-hun in a playoff at the Genesis Championship, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) and the KPGA Tour.
Kim held a one-stroke lead over An with one hole to play but missed a birdie putt at the par-five 18th hole to fall to the playoff.
The two players went back to the 18th, where An birdied to beat Kim, who made bogey. It was An’s first victory in nine years.
While Kim offered An his congratulations, he apparently took out his anger on his locker afterward.
Kim, whose birth name is Joo-hyung, and An both represented Korea at the Paris Olympics this summer, and played together on the International Team at the Presidents Cup last month in Canada.
The KPGA Tour plans to pay the golf club for repair and later ask Kim to cover the cost. The Korean tour is also considering opening disciplinary proceedings against Kim, who won the Korean tour’s money title, scoring title and Player of the Year award in 2021. (Yonhap)
