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What a (Jason) Day for Sang-Moon Bae

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:43:00 GMT

Sang-Moon Bae already had a claim to at least a modicum of fame, courtesy of Golf Boys 2.Oh. Dial it up on You Tube and listen carefully, toward the end:

I took a vaycay at Sang-Moon Bae, I got a massage every single Jason Day

The Golf Boys are Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Ben Crane, whose latest video has received nearly 3.8 million views on You Tube, no doubt leaving nearly 3.8 million viewers wondering where this Sang-Moon Bay is located and whether they too should plan a vaycay there.

Assuming they follow golf, they're likely to soon learn that Moon, as his colleagues call him, is not a destination resort, though if his golf swing was contagious, he'd be worth a visit.

"Fabulous golf swing," CBS' Nick Faldo said, after Bae outplayed Keegan Bradley down the stretch on Sunday to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship, his first PGA Tour victory.

His is a game that can travel, too, and it won't be in coach class. Only 26, Bae, a native of South Korea, also has 11 international victories, including three on the Asian Tour and another three on the Japan Golf Tour, where in 2011 he was its leading money winner.

If he or Bradley were stocks, they'd be strong buys at this point. This was already assumed about Bradley, who also is only 26 and already is a major champion and three-time winner on the PGA Tour. But Bae is relatively unknown, having joined the PGA Tour last year, when he earned $1,165,952, a figure, incidentally, that he exceeded with his victory at the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas.

Maybe better than his swing was the way he handled the pressure after squandering a four-stroke lead over Bradley. The last five holes are the most difficult stretch on the course with winds howling and he played them in even-par to win by two.

"We all marvel at this golf swing," Faldo said, "but I marvel at his mental strength as well. He showed great strength today. It wasn't very right for awhile and to face the big five holes to get in and shoot [even], fantastic."

Faldo also predicted that Bae won't be "a flash in the pan." Bae is banking on that as well, aiming as he is to represent South Korea in the Olympics in 2016. Military service is mandatory in South Korea and he has yet to fulfill his obligation, but an Olympic medal or a major championship would exempt him from service.

Until then, and with apologies to the Golf Boys, Sunday will serve as the finest (Jason) Day of his career.

Follow @JohnStrege

Golf World Monday: Did golf push wrestling out of the Olympics?

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:18:00 GMT

By Dave Shedloski

From the February 18 issue of Golf World Monday:

Who knew golf in the Olympics could so quickly become, ahem, a wedge issue?

Although there has been no expressed correlation between golf's inclusion in 2016 and the International Olympic Committee's Feb. 12 decision to cut wrestling in 2020, that hasn't stopped wrestling's supporters and various media from making a connection.

Photo by Getty Images

Wrestling, like track and field or swimming, dates back to the first modern Olympiad in 1896. Advocates can make several salient points in wrestling's favor, but denigrating golf in the process seems intellectually sketchy.

Lest anyone forget, rugby also was added to the '16 Games, and the uninitiated might describe it as wrestling with an oblong ball, which would constitute redundancy. The juxtaposition of golf and wrestling stirs populist angst, as does the notion that wrestling, contested among amateurs whose biggest global competition comes every four years, better exemplifies the true "Olympic spirit."

Ultimately, today's IOC seems to tie a sport's relevancy to marketability. Wrestling's supporters are welcome to go to the mat fighting that contention, but golf rightly is getting another shot, having debuted in the second Olympiad in 1900 in Paris and contested again in 1904 in St. Louis.

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Varied reaction to Rory McIlroy's comments about his Olympics decision

Steve Hennessey — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 21:18:00 GMT

By Stephen Hennessey As Golf World Executive Editor Ron Sirak summed up in a column on Tuesday, Rory McIlroy is bound to upset one group of people, after being quoted in a recent interview saying...

McIlroy Has Nothing To Gain With Olympic Issue

Ron Sirak — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

In confronting the issue of his cultural identity, Rory McIlroy is bound to disappoint someone.

Reader punchlines to Michael Phelps joining Hank Haney on his Golf Channel show

Steve Hennessey — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:02:00 GMT

At Golf World, we give our readers the chance to write for our magazine on a week-to-week basis. Our Front 9 Punchline Contest gives fans the opportunity to see their name right next to...

Trending: Michael Phelps, professional golfer?

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 14:35:00 GMT

Photo: Victor Fraile/Getty Images

At the risk of using a bad fish-out-of-water cliche, I'm taking the bait. A quick headline-glance at the multitude of Michael Phelps retirement stories hitting the web this weekend is all that's needed to realize his post-swimming days will be filled with plenty of golf and travel. Not too shocking; this is a pretty normal retirement plan for about 75% of the men in this country. Then again, most men aren't world class Olympic athletes retiring at age 27. So of course, the obvious question on everyone's mind is: could Michael Phelps become a professional golfer?

Ok, so maybe it was only on Bleacher Report's mind, but considering golf is the only specific activity outside of "diving with sharks" that Phelps could muster throughout all of the post-retirement interviews, it is at least a deserving thought. No one's even sure Phelps has the desire to compete outside of the pool -- another common theme of his retirement interview rounds is the assurance he will not race again because of the rigors of being a professional athlete -- so why do we assume he wants to try his hand at a different professional sport?

To his own admission, he is competitive at everything he does, and while he revealed to Bob Costas that he's not a very good golfer now, if he has "a goal of dropping X amount of shots, or working on my short game or putting, those things are going to keep me motivated and fire me up and excite me."

As most of us weekend warriors will tell you, getting motivated on the course is not the hard part. Shaving those few strokes off our game is. And while we may not have the time or resources to devote ourselves completely to the game, even getting near scratch golf -- let alone to a professional caliber -- is a feat for the truly gifted. Though the argument could still be made that Phelps falls into that "truly gifted" category.

Back in May, Phelps told Rick Reilly he had a desire to play golf that rivaled that of swimming, even suggesting as a youth he considered giving up the sport he now dominates to switch his focus. While he was always coaxed back into the pool by his mother, he still has the desire and wants to "play all the great [golf] courses" in the world. Oh yeah, and he's been getting coaching tips from Hank Haney. Maybe you've heard of him?

If I were to use one more cliche, I'd say it's not time to stick a fork in Michael Phelps just yet. Maybe his professional swimming days are behind him, but I'm positive we'll be seeing him in a pro tournament sometime soon -- at least in a pro-am. But for any further professional golfing speculation, well, let's just say if he makes it onto a tour not named Champions, he will be worthy of discussion among the greatest athletes of all time.

Michael Phelps talks with USA Today after his final race.

-- Derek Evers
Follow @derekevers

Women In The Golf Industry: Kelly Tilghman

Stina Sternberg — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:02:00 GMT

Golf's leading female broadcaster spills the beans on her Olympic summer job, her friendship with Tiger and what it takes to become a TV star.In a new series, Golf Digest Woman profiles some of the...

Trending: Wozzilroy is at the Olympics

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:27:00 GMT

Wait, is it is at the Olympics, or are at the Olympics? Ah well, whether or not they qualify as plural these days is rather insignificant, Rory McIlory and Caroline Wozniacki are in love, and this week they bring that love to the Olympics.

Love struck? Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki arrive at Olympic Village. Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

The much-documented relationship has taken some hits in recent weeks due to the decline in their professional performances since they've started dating. Some have even gone as far as to speculate it's the reason for their failures, and now McIlroy's fellow countryman Graeme McDowell has confirmed it is true -- at least he thinks so.

Speaking to Morning Drive this week, McDowell suggested the constant travel to be with Wozniacki is wearing Rory down, and the result we're seeing in his golf game is actually fatigue. But not to worry, "he's a young kid and he has all the talent in the world. It is only a matter of time [before he comes back]."

Let's be honest, who wouldn't want to gallivant around the globe as one of the sports world's "it" couples? And between Dubai appearance fees and underwear lines, neither one of them has to win another tournament and they'd still be set for life. While at some point the lack of success may hurt their popularity, for now we're just going to have to accept the fact that enjoying each other's company is as much on their agenda as winning. Or as McDowell puts it, "the boy's in love. He's crazy about her. It's not a bad problem to have."

Not a bad problem to have indeed, and at least for McIlroy, the focus will now shift to Wozniacki's on-court performance for the next couple of weeks. Not to mention, there's all that rampant Olympic Village sex to look forward to.

-- Derek Evers
Follow @derekevers

Golf's Olympic History

Derek Evers — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

With the 2012 London Games upon us, and golf set to return in Rio in 2016, we take a look back at the sport's sometimes dubious history at the Olympics.

Trending: Celebrating golf's Olympic return

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:55:00 GMT

The news that Gil Hanse was selected to design the golf course for the 2016 Olympic games was met with excitement from most in the golf world--the notable exceptions being the seven other designers who lost out on the opportunity to lead the project. But aside from raising the prospects of a great new course for the Rio Games, it is another boost of excitement for the return of competitive golf in the Olympics after a 112-year hiatus. (Canadian George Lyon, above, was the last Olympic gold medal winner in golf at the 1904 St. Louis games. AP Photo.)

"I give the Olympic Committee a lot of credit," Phil Mickelson said at the Cadillac Championship in Florida. "Because it would have been easier to go with a big name and instead, they went with the best. I thought that was pretty cool."

I couldn't agree more with Phil. Despite the relatively obscure sports we get to witness every four years (race walking? rhythmic gymnastics?), the Olympics bring out a special sense of competition, sportsmanship, and national pride unlike any other event--even if you'll never remember who won the gold medal for synchronized swimming. With that in mind, here are a few teasers to pump you up even further. First, let's allow the PGA and tour professionals to tell us why it's a special occasion, then we'll sink into nostalgia with some Olympic highlights as we prep for the London Games later this year. Only four more years 'til Rio.