South Korea’s Tom Kim took an impromptu mud bath in a marshy area of Oak Hill while trying to save a stroke in Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Championship.
Kim fell into the mud trying to find his ball at the par-4 sixth hole then was stunned to learn his entire adventure, including cleaning his feet in a creek and changing his shirt, had been shown live on television.
The mishap began when Kim’s tee shot at the sixth went right of the fairway into a muddy creekside area.
“I was told my ball crossed the water and it was in the mud over there,” Kim said.
Rather than take a penalty, Kim was going to try and find and play his ball.
“I’m in a major championship and fighting for every stroke,” he said.
But as his leg sank deep into the quagmire, Kim realized his quest was unlikely to succeed.
“As soon as I went in it was kind of sketchy,” he said. “And then it got dark. Once my foot got in, there was no looking back. I went full in.”
Then matters got worse. Even his caddy, Joe Skovron, was concerned about getting pulled into the bow trying to rescue Kim.
“It just got my shirt and everything,” Kim said. “There was one point where I just sank in. I was steady for a minute, I couldn’t get myself out.
“I had to crawl and use every part of my body to get out.
“Didn’t find the ball.”
With mud up to his waist, he used the water from the creek to clean his legs and feet, but had to get a new shirt.
“I thought I might as well go into the water and wash myself off,” Kim said. “My shirt got bad. I had to take it off.”
Kim, who started off the 10th tee, wound up taking the penalty and made bogey at the sixth, then closed with three pars to shoot a three-over 73 and share 63rd.
“It could have been a lot better,” Kim said. “I hung in there, especially after what happened on that hole.”
The biggest shock, however, was yet to come. When Kim got to the media area, he saw that video of his muddy misery was an internet sensation.
“Oh no,” Kim said. “Everyone knows.”
The 20-year-old from Seoul won his first two PGA Tour titles last year at the Wyndham Championship and Shriners Children’s Open. He managed his best finish in five major starts last month by sharing 16th at the Masters.
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