Tom Kim overcomes ankle injury to shoot 68 at The Open

HOYLAKE, England – Tom Kim said he could barely walk Friday, but he still managed to shoot 68 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club to make the cut at The Open.

Kim suffered a Grade 1 tear in his right ankle after slipping in the backyard of his rental home Thursday evening.

“It’s pretty bruised,” Kim said after Friday’s round. “I don’t know how I really walked, but once the adrenaline popped in I got away with it. Now I’m surviving.”

Kim shot 74 in the first round at Royal Liverpool but, in spite of the injury, returned Friday to make four birdies in a five-hole stretch on his front nine and just a lone bogey at the 11th. Kim, 21, is coming off a T6 at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open and T8 finish in the previous major, the U.S. Open. Kim is currently 24th in the world ranking and 19th in the FedExCup as the Playoffs approach.

He admitted that he was close to withdrawing before Friday’s round and said he was headed to see a doctor Friday afternoon.

“I got some tough love from my team and I was told to suck it up,” the two-time TOUR winner joked. “I certainly did that and played well today.”

At even-par for the championship, Kim is 10 shots behind clubhouse leader Brian Harman. But when Harman finished his round, he was five shots ahead of the next-closest player on the leaderboard, Tommy Fleetwood.

Kim will comfortably make the cut and, with rain and wind forecast for the weekend, could still contend with a strong weekend. As the saying goes, “beware the injured golfer.”