Sungjae Im announced the completion of three weeks of military training “without any injuries” on Friday.
The two-time PGA Tour winner shared the news with his fans on Instagram, posting a photo of him wearing a Korean marine uniform.
“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. The 27-year-old 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 $5 million, increasing his career PGA Tour earnings to nearly $35 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 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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