Kim Joo-hyung Wins Men's Golf Gold at Asian Games After 16 Years, Team Secures Silver

Kim Joo-hyung has won the gold medal in men's golf at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Kim finished the final round of the men's golf individual event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held today (the 3rd) at the East Course (par 70) of the Kasugai Country Club in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with one eagle, five birdies, and one bogey for a 6-under 64. He secured the championship with a final total of 18-under 262, beating the runner-up group by three strokes.

Powered by Kim's stellar performance, South Korea also finished second in the team event—which competes based on the combined scores of the top two players from each country in each round—with a final total of 26-under 534, following China (28-under 532).

As a result, teammates Moon Do-yeob and Kim Seong-hyeon claimed the silver medals.

This marks the first time in 16 years that a South Korean male golfer has won an Asian Games individual gold medal since Kim Min-휘 at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.

With this victory at the tournament, Kim Joo-hyung has earned a military service exemption, allowing him to smoothly continue his career on the PGA Tour.

Moon Do-yeob, who has already fulfilled his military duty, finished tied for eighth place in the individual event with a final total of 8-under 272, while Kim Seong-hyeon tied for 24th at 1-over 281.

Holding a one-stroke lead through the third round, Kim Joo-hyung maintained steady play today and calmly reduced his score.

After picking up his first birdie on the 2nd hole (par 4), he reeled off birdies on the 4th hole (par 3), 6th hole (par 4), and 8th hole (par 5).

On the 4th hole, his tee shot went over the back of the green, but he escaped trouble by dropping a sensitive chip-in birdie shot into the cup.

Although he missed a birdie putt of about 1.5 meters on the 9th hole (par 4), Kim did not waver.

Maintaining a two-stroke lead over the chasing group, Kim delivered a decisive blow on the 13th hole (par 5).

After placing his second shot about a meter away from the hole, he calmly sank the eagle putt and clenched his fist.

Even after pulling four strokes ahead of the second-place group, Kim remained vigilant.

On the 16th hole (par 4), his second shot landed near the edge of the lake, but he steadily recovered to secure a par.

When his tee shot on the 17th hole (par 4) pulled to the left and ended up behind a tree, he safely placed the ball back on the fairway with his second shot and limited the damage to a bogey.

Entering the final 18th hole (par 4) with a three-stroke lead, Kim wrapped up the match without any trouble and cheered in triumph.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.