Tom Kim had an uneven opening round at the PGA Championship on Thursday in Western New York, but there was a silver lining for the South Korean pro: A free mud bath.
Kim was seen extracting himself from a grimy creek following an errant shot on Oak Hill’s sixth hole. He appeared to have removed his socks and shoes before rolling up his pant legs and wading into the swampy area. The exact moment he fell into the stream wasn’t captured by cameras, but his attempts to escape from a muddy grave were, much to the delight of the Sky Sports announcers.
‘Oh my goodness,’ said one as Kim emerged with mud covering his legs and arms. ‘That’s absolutely fantastic.
‘He took the shoes and socks off to hit his shot, and then he’s gone to take a step, and the mud has grabbed his leg and he’s just gone fully forward and had to kneel down in it.’
With three holes still left to play, Kim decided his best course of action was to return to the stream to rinse off.
South Korea’s Tom Kim was seen extracting himself from a grimy creek on Oak Hill’s sixth hole
Tom Kim finished at +3 on Thursday after his mud bath on the sixth hole
‘That’s marvelous,’ joked another announcer. ‘Might as well just sit down in there.’
Sky Sports’ Nick Dougherty said the incident ‘made my day.’
Afterwards Kim’s caddie Joe Skovron provided the golfer with new socks and a long-sleeved pullover.
‘Do you think he’s got the waterproof trousers?’ asked one announcer.
Kim would take a drop on the hole before finishing with a bogey on the sixth.
He is now tied for 63rd at +3 entering play on Friday.
Kim’s caddie Joe Skovron played a key role in helping the South Korean golfer get cleaned up
‘As soon as I went in, it was kind of sketch,’ Kim told reporters. ‘But I was like, ”This is 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.”
As for his bath, Kim figured his afternoon ‘couldn’t get any worse,’ so he decided to go for it.
‘I was wet enough, so I thought I might as well just go in the water and wash myself off.
‘It could’ve been a lot better, that’s for sure,’ Kim added.
