The first round of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club got messy, in a literal sense, for Tom Kim. Playing the par-4 6th while sitting at 2 over for the round — Kim started his day on the back nine — the 20-year-old went searching for his golf ball after hitting his tee shot into the left hazard.
To say the least, that trip hardly went as expected for Kim.
Kim, whose approach shot did not air live on TV, suddenly appeared on screen emerging from the hazard covered with mud up to his crotch, initially crawling out before finding his footing and revealing the messy situation for all to see. It was enough for Kim to briefly enter an adjacent creek in an effort to wash off his outfit before taking a drop. He subsequently changed out of his polo shirt into a sweater.
Thankfully, Kim got the quite the laugh out of the situation, as did his caddie. But when it comes to making a mess of a hole, Kim’s adventure takes things to an entirely different level.
“I was told that my ball crossed the water; it was just in the mud over there. If I was able to find it, if I had a good enough lie, I was thinking I could chip it over there,” Kim explained while laughing and smiling after the round.
“As soon as I went in, it was kind of sketch, but I was like, ‘It’s a major championship; I’m fighting for every single stroke I have.’ And then it got dark. Once my foot got in, I was like, ‘There’s no looking back.’ It went full in, got my shirt and everything. There was one point where I just sunk in. I was standing for a minute and couldn’t get myself out. … I had to crawl, had to use every part of my body to get out.
“I’ve had better days.”
Despite all the trouble, Kim managed to save bogey and at least clean himself off a bit before continuing his round.
“It couldn’t get any worse. I was wet enough, so I thought I might as well just go in the water and wash myself off,” he said.
Now, other golfers who hit into the same hazard on the hole will surely think twice about trying to play out of it after seeing the outcome Kim endured. It remains unclear exactly just how Kim got so muddy upon entering the hazard, but others have been warned after watching that.
Kim is making the third PGA Championship appearance of his career. He previously played in the 2020 event at TPC Harding Park and 2022 event at Southern Hills Country Club, missing the cut on both occasions.