Sungjae Im announced the completion of three weeks of military training “without any injuries” overnight.
The two-time PGA Tour winner shared the news with his fans on Instagram, posting a photo of him wearing a Korean marine uniform.
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“9th Marine Brigade 91st Marine Battalion after 3 weeks of training,” Im captioned. “Thanks to the fans who cared about me during the training camp, and many of you, I feel like I was able to finish the training without any injuries.”
In South Korea, able-bodied men are obligated to serve 21 months of military service before they turn 35. Im – and fellow PGA Tour winner Si Woo Kim – became exempt from that by virtue of winning the gold medal in golf at the 2023 Asian Games. Instead, their service was reduced to a few weeks of basic military training and volunteer work.
“What a total BADASS,” Im’s caddie, Willy Wilcox responded, adding a salute emoji.
Korean athletes can also avoid the full mandatory military obligation by winning a medal in the Olympics, which is why Tom Kim was so emotional after his close call in Paris last year.
Im is coming off a season in which he made more than $US5 million, increasing his career PGA Tour earnings to nearly $US35 million. Since turning pro, Im has earned a reputation of playing a lot of tournaments, so this much time off was a rarity.
“Of course, due to three weeks of training and volunteer activities, my personal practice time will be shorter,” Im, 27, added in his post, “but I will try to move forward with more focus and I believe that my abilities will be restored again.”
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