Durban - To the untrained eye, the difference between professional and recreational golfers may not be clearly visible, but for those who can spot it, it's understood that what goes on between a players’ ears matters most.
A pro will do almost anything to win.
Take South Korean golfer Tom Kim for example, who went into the mud on the sixth hole at Oak Hills Country Club in New York at the 105th PGA Championship on Thursday.
To make matters worse, New York was bitterly cold with frost on Thursday morning, which delayed play significantly by a number of hours.
During an interview on SkySports, Kim told the journalist he was hoping that they wouldn’t show the footage of him trailing through the mud bare feet, almost up to his waist in mud.
Kim then decided to wash off in a stream adjacent to the muddy area he got stuck in while looking for his ball.
“I think the world has seen enough already but I hit it over in the mud. I was hoping I was able to find it.
“They’re showing it, I was hoping they wouldn’t show it,” he said, laughing at the highlights.
“I wasn’t able to find my ball and then there was a part where a whole part of my legs were inside the mud and I wasn’t able to get myself out for a minute. Then I said I might as well go in the water and wash myself off,” he added.
"I miss days when I played on a Tour without cameras." @KiraDixon asking Tom Kim about THAT viral moment 🤣 pic.twitter.com/0ETpW7tpjc
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 19, 2023
After wiping off the icy Rochester waters, Kim finished the first round on three-over 73.
He’s tied with South African golfers Dean Burmester and Chrtistiaan Bezuidenhout and three-time major winner - America’s Jordan Spieth.
In the post round interview with ESPN, Kim gave the backstory to the mud search.
“I was told my ball crossed the water. It was just in the mud over there and if I was able to find it, I was thinking I could chip it over there.
“As soon as I went in, it was kind of sketchy but I was like its a major championship, I’m fighting for every single stroke I have. And then it got dark, like once my foot got in, there was no looking back,” Kim said.
Imagine his shock when he was told that the incident had already gone viral by the time he finished the round.
Tom Kim, after being told the video of him getting muddy is all over the place.
“Everyone knows? Who got it?”
You were on ESPN.
“Oh my God…” pic.twitter.com/DHdG9HRDrz