Bio Kim, once banned for directing obscene gesture at fans, wins on Asian Tour

In 2019, Bio Kim was unnerved after a fan took his picture while he was teeing off during an event in Korea.

Bio Kim, whose three-year ban for making an obscene gesture towards fans was later reduced to one year, won the GS Caltex Maekyung Open on Sunday in Korea.

In October of 2019, Kim directed an obscene gesture towards the gallery during the final round of a Korean Tour event. The incident occurred on the 16th tee box, when a fan took a picture of Kim as he teed off. He turned to the fans and flipped them off, then slammed his club into the ground. After going on to win the event, Kim apologized.

On Sunday, Kim, 31, started the day with a four-shot lead and despite a 1-over 72 in the final round, he won by two shots over Mingyu Cho, a victory aided in large part by a two-stroke penalty incurred by Cho on the ninth hole.

It’s the fourth professional win for Kim and it comes tens years after he won the same tournament on the same course. That win was the first of two that season. He then went nine years before winning again at the 2021 LG Signature Players Championship.

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Most memorable, bizarre rules controversies of 2019

When the new Rules of Golf were implemented on Jan. 1, 2019, it took player a while to adjust. Here are some of the memorable violations.

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The USGA announced major changes to the Rules of Golf which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2019.

It didn’t take long for the new rules to create headlines.

Thirty-seven major clarifications are divided into eight different categories— ball at rest, ball in motion, taking relief, areas of the course, equipment, playing a ball, when to play during a round (including pace of play) and player behavior.

The specifics involving the new rules and their revised language compared to the previous rule can be read on the USGA’s website.

Over the year, we tracked the most surprising and controversial rules violations in all competitive levels of golf. Here are a few of the most memorable rules violations from 2019.

Be sure to vote for the most bizarre rules violation of the year at the end of the story.