On Friday, Tom Kim fired one of the best rounds of the day, as a second round 68 meant he would make the weekend at level-par. It was a lovely round from the South Korean, who made four birdies and just one bogey to move up over 60 places.
However, Kim revealed that it wasn't all plain sailing, especially after a freak accident caused an injury which nearly left him withdrawing from The 151st Open Championship!
Speaking after his second round, Kim stated: "Yeah, I just... something very unfortunate. After the round yesterday I got home and I looked -- where I'm staying, there is like this patio and it drops down to the grass. There is like half a yard of mud and my foot got caught and slipped and popped. So, yeah, it's a grade one tear. I'm barely walking, but it's cool how I got away with it.
"It's pretty bruised. I can't take off my shoe really. I don't know how I really walked. But once the adrenaline popped in, I got away with it. Now I'm surviving. I was very close to calling it off and not playing today, get home and try to see a doctor because it's pretty bruised. But, no, I got some tough love from my team and I was told to suck it up. I certainly did that and played well today."
Kim came into the tournament in good form following a tie for third place at the Genesis Scottish Open. Although he started with a 74 on Thursday at Royal Liverpool, he did battle back and, with this being the final Major of the year, the 21-year-old is looking to add to his T8 finish at last month's US Open.
"My trainer did tell me it was definitely playable", explained Kim. "I taped it up a lot where it's not going to get worse. It's just uncomfortable. I'm not going to give up. It's just not who I am. I definitely went out there with low expectations of I don't know how to hit the golf ball. It was definitely a lot of half swings.
"Once I started to warm and get more comfortable with it I was able to play around with it. I wanted to see how it was for the first few holes before I decided what to do. I hit the ball better than yesterday without a bad foot, so maybe it's a good thing."
With the afternoon wave going out as Kim finished his day, there will be plenty of time to recover, with Kim adding: "(I'm) just putting my foot on ice the whole day and trying to have some medicine and eat well and just rest up for tomorrow. I do need a wheelchair going to the clubhouse. I might need some help."
