Tour Confidential: Tom Kim’s life-altering win, Presidents Cup leftovers

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Tom Kim’s win at the Asian Games, finish our Presidents Cup debrief and examine LIV Golf’s uncertain future.

Tom Kim won the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday and earned the individual gold medal for South Korea, but his win also means the 24-year-old will avoid an 18-21 month stretch in the South Korean military required of all males in the country. We’ve seen a lot of impactful wins this season — Gary Woodland and Anthony Kim come to mind — but where does this one rank among some of the biggest of 2026?

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): It’s not at the AK and Gary Woodland level, but I think it’s in that neighborhood. Winning is, like, the hardest thing to do in golf. To win when the weight of a career-altering inevitability hangs over you if you don’t win? That’s extremely, extremely impressive.

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@schrock_and_awe): Given the potential career-altering stakes, I’d say this win is potentially the biggest of the year. AK and Woodland’s wins were great stories in their own right, but had AK lost LIV Adelaide, his future wouldn’t have been greatly impacted outside of his bank account. The pressure Tom Kim had to have felt knowing how military service impacted Sangmoon Bae and others was undoubtedly immense and he got it done. What a weight to lift off your shoulders.

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): Dramatic stuff for sure, though if he hadn’t gotten it done, Kim, who is 24, still would have had two more chances, at the next Summer Olympics (L.A. in 2028) and next Asian Games (Doha in 2030). That was not the case for Kim’s Asian Games teammate, S.H. Kim, who is 28. His time is up. Tough stuff. Interesting the stock the Korean government puts in those two events in particular; you might think that a major-championship win would rank as highly in terms of national pride.

Tom Kim had three PGA Tour wins from 2022-23, but didn’t win again until this year’s Genesis Scottish Open. Last week he was one of the best players at the Presidents Cup, and now his latest win will certainly prolong his professional career. What has changed and what’s the ceiling for Tom Kim?

Colgan: I think we might be seeing Tom Kim’s ceiling right now. He’s a player on the rise who can hang with some of the best in the world. He’ll need to elevate another notch — either in his ball-striking or his distance — to ascend into the territory of a top-10 player in the world; and he’ll need to learn to play faster to earn the adoration of the broader sport. But he’s just 24. He still has room to grow to get there.

Schrock: Tom Kim was so young when he burst onto the scene, it’s easy to forget that he’s still just 24 and is probably arriving at his peak years. He admitted to having to eat some “humble pie” over the last two years but thinks his game and his mindset is better for it. The putter has improved and it’s fair to envision a big year for him in 2027. 

Bastable: Yeah, it’s the putter. Kim’s iron play always has been elite, but when he gets to the green, he struggles to put the ball in the hole. In his last few starts, he’s largely been gaining strokes on the green, which historically has not been the case for him. Look at this season alone: despite a strong finishing kick, he still finished 83rd in SG: Putting. For him to elevate to the next level, he’s going to need to get better with the flatstick. If only he could bottle his Presidents Cup play and bring that excellent and energy to every Tour stop.

While we are officially a week removed from the U.S. narrowly beating the Internationals in the Presidents Cup — and discussed some talking points in this space last week — there’s still much to learn from Medinah. One we didn’t cover: What did 2027 Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk learn that will help him in Ireland?

Colgan: That if he actually wants things to be competitive at Adare Manor, he needs to get really, really, REALLY serious about creating a blueprint to improve the team’s performance in foursomes play.

Schrock: I would hope he learned that while the U.S. team remains really good at singles, they still have a lot of work to do at team golf, especially in foursomes. A Sunday singles charge against the Internationals shouldn’t paper over the big issue that has plagued the Americans for several competitions in a row. 

Bastable: That JK (Jackson Koivun) might soon be the U.S.’s new JT (Justin Thomas).

And what might European captain Luke Donald have thought watching the Americans? And will any of it be helpful to him come next year?

Colgan: That his advantage in foursomes play — the thing that has allowed the Europeans to win two straight Cups under his watch — is still prolific. 

Schrock: That he still has the upper hand on a talented American team that doesn’t know what to do in foursomes, where the Europeans bludgeon them. 

Bastable: Lol, quite sure Donald isn’t too worried about what the Americans are up to; he has far weightier matters — like shampoo brands and thread counts — to sort out. Donald and Furyk will address the media on Tuesday. Maybe we’ll get some insights into LD’s Adare Manor planning then.

In a court filing last week, representatives for Sergio Garcia asked the court for clarity on the status of Garcia’s existing LIV contract in light of the league’s bankruptcy: Is his LIV contract terminated as part of the bankruptcy? And, if not, he wants court authority to terminate the contract himself. How big of a blow would the departure of Garcia, one of the original LIV members, be to the future of the league?

Colgan: Definitely a blow in the sense that any professional golfer exiting LIV is bad for LIV at this juncture. But is there anything about Sergio’s departure that is specifically damaging to LIV’s future? Eh.

Schrock: LIV can’t really afford to lose any players, especially those with high name-ID regardless of their age. I think it signals where things are probably headed but if LIV 2.0 doesn’t get off the ground, it won’t be because the Fireballs’ skipper left. 

Bastable: Sergio still sneaky moves the needle, if not always for the right reasons, and still has plenty of game. LIV would not want to lose him. Then again, there are far bigger fish squirming on the LIV hook, and it sounds like at least a couple of them (looking at you, Joaco) might be making big decisions within the next couple of weeks.