Tom Kim creates his own Jean van de Velde moment at Oak Hill

Tom Kim emerged from a marshy stretch of Allens Creeks that crosses the sixth fairway covered in thick black mud from head to his bare feet

MUDDY WATERS: Tom Kim of South Korea plays his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Pic: Warren Little/Getty Images

The Barry Burn that snakes through Carnoustie and wreaks havoc on golfers’ scorecards will forever be connected to Jean van de Velde. The iconic image of the Frenchman – with his trousers rolled up and hands on hips as he stood ankle deep in the water while his Open Championship hopes washed away with the tide – is forever burned in the annals of major championship history.

Allens Creek winds its way peacefully across Oak Hill Country Club in similar fashion, delivering quiet menace to those whose balls end up in there. It now has its own major championship victim to forever be linked to it – Tom Kim. The 20-year-old South Korean’s muddy creek encounter late in Thursday’s opening round will live in infamy.