N. Korean luxury golf club This photo released by Naenara, a North Korean media outlet, on June 23, 2020, shows Pyongyang Golf Course in the western city of Nampo. The luxury golf club reopened last year. (Yonhap)
Madeleine Albright is the latest person to be critical of President Trump’s praising of South Korean golfer Sung-hyun Park who won the US Women’s Open at the President’s golf club in New Jersey:
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called out President Donald Trump Wednesday for promoting one of his golf courses during a speech before South Korea’s legislature.
While praising South Korea’s achievements, Trump told the National Assembly Wednesday (local time) that Korean golfers are “some of the best on Earth.”
“In fact, and you know what I’m going to say, the Women’s U.S. Open was held this year at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and it just happened to be won by a great Korean golfer,” he said, referring to Park Sung-hyun.
Asked to comment on MSNBC, Albright said, “What a waste. Maybe he should have stuck with the business he was in before.” [Yonhap]
Anyway I look at the President’s comment as something he said to try and relate to the audience that he was speaking to. Only people looking for anything to criticize the President would take his comment to mean he was promoting his golf club.
American golfer Justin Thomas poses with his trophy after winning the inaugural CJ Cup @Nine Bridges on Jeju Island on Oct. 22, 2017. Thomas won the first PGA Tour event in South Korea in a playoff against Marc Leishman from Australia. (Yonhap)
Hopefully the headlines these guys are making does not encourage others to go to North Korea to try and do the same thing:
Brisbane lads Evan Shay and Morgan Ruig have attracted a few admirers after their whirlwind golfing tour that fooled North Korean authorities into believing they were top golfers. Picture: Nigel Hallett
FURIOUS North Korea has demanded Aussie larrikins Morgan Ruig and Evan Shay return to Pyongyang and apologise for their prank appearance in a golf tournament in the communist state.
Ruig and Shay, both 28, created worldwide headlines after pretending to be members of the Australian golf team and fooling North Korean authorities into letting them play in a two-day international tournament in Pyongyang last month.
The pair, who had been playing polo in China when they decided to email organisers for an invitation, even had fake green golf jackets made up with Australian badges.
But neither Ruig nor Shay plays golf and performed so badly their North Korean caddie told them they had brought shame on their families.
The stunt has brought the lads international fame and they were mobbed by fans on a visit to the Gold Coast yesterday.
Ruig said outraged North Korean officials had now demanded an apology. [Courier Mail]
You can read more at the link, but I would feel no pity for these guys if they ended getting arrested in North Korea if their prank was discovered. I am just concerned the headlines these guys are making will encourage other random people to try and get their 15 minutes of fame by trying something like this in North Korea again. What I also don’t like is that some random official in North Korea is probably going to be held responsible for allowing these guys into the country in the first place. Should a North Korean official’s livelihood be put at stake just because a couple of random people want their 15 minutes of fame?
South Korea’s Pak Se-ri, who has won 25 victories and five major championships during nearly two decades on the LPGA Tour, smiles during the first round of the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship at Sky 72 Golf & Resort’s Ocean Course, next to Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Oct. 13, 2016. The first round was the last round in Pak’s golf career as the LPGA Hall of Famer retired afterwards. (Photo courtesy of LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship) (Yonhap)
This photo shows Lotte Skyhill Seongju Country Club in the namesake county, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The club and its vicinity rapidly emerge as an alternative candidate site for the U.S. anti-missile system, called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), instead of an originally-planned site in the same county amid local residents’ vehement opposition to the deployment, citing health problems. Lotte Skyhill provided the photo. (Yonhap)
Yoon Chae-young may not have won much on the golf course, but she excels at winning the modeling competition for the Korean LPGA:
Golfer Yoon Chae-young was picked to serve as a face of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association for the eighth straight year on Thursday.
Yoon is the only golfer to have served in the role continuously since 2009. Kim Ha-neul, Kim Hye-youn and Kim Char-young each modeled for six years, while Ahn Shin-ae and Yang Soo-jin both did the job for five years.
The association picks models through a voting process from among the top 60 earners on the golfing money list, with KLPGA members, journalists and representatives of tour sponsors casting ballots. This process requires that golfers be both exceptionally talented and popular to be selected. [Chosun Ilbo]
South Korean golfer Bae Sang-moon smiles as he prepares to report for military duty in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on Nov. 17, 2015. All able-bodied South Korean men are required to fulfill military draft, and Bae was charged in February with violating the law for not returning after his overseas travel permit ran out. The court in July refused to extend the permit. (Yonhap)
Considering all the other Korean athletes that have gotten out of military service due to their sporting accomplishments, I am a bit surprised a golfer ranked 23rd on the PGA tour did not get a deferment:
Bae Sang-Moon said Wednesday he plans to play the rest of the PGA Tour season before submitting to his mandatory military service in South Korea.
Bae was denied an extension of his visa at the start of the year and challenged it in court. Yonhap news service said Bae lost his legal battle to have his mandatory service deferred. The debate was whether Bae had spent enough time out of South Korea last year.
“I completely respect the court’s decision, and I humbly accept the judgment by the law,” he told Yonhap. “I am sorry to those who have supported me, including all my fans and South Koreans, for causing anxiety.”
The 29-year-old Bae is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the season-opening Frys.com Open last October. He was hopeful that victory would help him make the Presidents Cup team because the matches will be played this year for the first time in South Korea.
Bae is No. 23 in the standings, and only the top 10 qualify. [Associated Press]
