(Kasugai [Japan] = Yonhap News) Reporter Kyung-yoon Kim = Kim Joo-hyung, who won the gold medal in men's golf at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, said that the message of support from the 'Emperor of Golf' Tiger Woods (USA) was a great help in winning.
After winning the final round of men's golf at the Kasugai Country Club East Course (par 70) in Aichi Prefecture, Japan on the 3rd with a 6-under-par 64 strokes and a final total of 18-under par 262 strokes, Kim Joo-hyung said, "I woke up this morning and looked at my phone, and the first thing I saw was a text message from Woods," and "It really helped me a lot."
When asked about the related information, he smiled and said, "It's a secret..." and then looked for his cell phone and said, "It was a message saying, 'Don't add, don't do anything, just be yourself. Nothing more, nothing less.'" He continued, "It seems like Woods is watching me from anywhere. It was the same when I won, and it was the same when the Presidents Cup ended (on the 28th of last month)."
He added, “Ahead of this tournament, I felt a great sense of responsibility and pride in representing my country, but when I saw that message, I decided that if I played my best, I would be able to do well.”
He also said with a smile, “I don’t think Woods will answer the phone very often, so I’ll have to send him a reply message,” and “I’ll have to send him a picture of him biting into a gold medal.”
When asked how he felt after winning this competition, he said, "I am disappointed that I won the silver medal in the team event," and "But I did my best, so I have no regrets. I am grateful and honored."
When asked to compare it to the moment of winning the PGA Tour, he replied, "I am not nervous at every moment of every round on the PGA Tour, but every moment of this tournament was a series of tensions from start to finish. I tried not to lose sight of that tension. I thought this week before the game was the longest week of my life, so I think I did well and stayed calm."
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games were a very difficult competition for Kim Joo-hyung.
He boarded a flight to Japan immediately after the end of the Presidents Cup on the 28th of last month and arrived there for a day of official training before playing in the first round.
Kim Joo-hyung laughed and said, "I really thought I was going to die. It was so hard," and then looked back, "I arrived at 5 a.m., took a bus, practiced in the rain, and played the game with very little sleep."
He then smiled, saying, “At the end of today’s round, my tee shot was a little shaky, leaning to the left, but that was because I was so tired.”
He said, "It wasn't an environment where I could show off my skills well. I prayed a lot to God."
He also expressed his gratitude to his wife, whom he married at the end of last year.
He said that his wife "kept calling me this week, praying with me, meditating with me, and reading the Bible with me. She gave me a lot of stability. I got through it by relying on her a lot."
Kim Joo-hyung performed extremely poorly on the 2025 PGA Tour, but married his wife at the end of the year and made a spectacular comeback this year.
Kim Joo-hyung said, "2022, the year I won the PGA for the first time, was special, but this year was the year I dropped all the baggage I had, one by one. It felt like I was taking water bottles out of my bag one by one. Now I feel like I can sleep with my feet stretched out."
When asked, 'How much sleep will I be able to get today?', he chuckled and said, "I don't know. I might not be able to sleep."
The content of the game was also reproduced.
Kim Joo-hyung said, "I felt like I was ahead because I performed well in the first half. Looking at the leaderboard would make me more nervous, so I deliberately didn't look at it. When I finished the 17th hole and saw that I was 3 strokes behind (the second-place group), I felt relieved."
Regarding the situation with the eagle shot at the 13th hole (par 5), which was the key to winning, he said, "It was the same. I put it on the fairway with my tee shot and made an eagle putt with my second shot," and "I tried not to get excited."
Kim Joo-hyung's next goal is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
He said, "I will be able to go to the Olympics with more peace of mind after winning the gold medal in this competition. I feel at ease because the next Olympics will be held in the United States. It is a place where I have played a lot of stadiums. I will continue to go with the goal of winning the Olympic gold medal."
Kim Joo-hyung received military service benefits by winning this tournament and will be able to continue his career on the PGA Tour smoothly.
However, Kim Joo-hyung tried to erase the stories about military service that were highlighted ahead of this competition from his mind.
When asked, "Did stories about military service become a burden during the preparation process for this competition?" Kim Joo-hyung said, "I tried not to look at the news or social media as much as possible. I entered this competition solely with the mindset of representing my country."
