Sangmoon Bae's Military Plight, The Good And The Bad
/The good news? The 54-hole co-leader at The Barclays could win and not lose his PGA Tour exemption when he starts fulfilling his Korean military service reports Jason Sobel at ESPN.com.
Sobel writes:
According to an amendment that has already been preliminarily approved by the policy board and is scheduled to be ratified next week, Bae's exempt status would receive an extension following his military service. In other words, when he completes his duty, he won't need to reclaim his playing privileges.
The bad news for Bae? Even if he wins, the Presidents Cup as a captain's pick--he's currently 25th in points--is unlikely unless Captain Nick Price wants to be a total rebel. I saw you go Nick, pick him as a statement to the host country, then replace him if he can't go.
Rex Hoggard on Bae and the other intriguing elements going into Sunday's final round.
Bae is scheduled to report for his mandatory 21 months of military service next month after losing a legal challenge last month in South Korea. Without a significant policy change, his participation in the matches doesn’t seem likely.
“I'm not sure if Mr. Nick Price is going to pick me. I'm definitely going to go back [to Korea] after the FedEx Cup,” said Bae, who is currently 25th on the International Presidents Cup point list but can move into the top 10 automatic qualifiers with a victory on Sunday. “[Military service is] mandatory in Korea. I have a little mixed emotion. I have to go and I have only a few tournaments, and I will play really hard and work really hard.”
Bae and Jason Day are paired again Sunday and the drama of Bae's situation, along with the incredible showing of a heartbroken Ryan Palmer, actually threatens to overshadow the playoff points permutations. I know, shocking.
The highlights from Saturday at Plainfield:
**In case you were wondering if the temperature will bother Bae's playing partner Jason Day, he's actually enjoying it, reports Brian Wacker.
“I love the heat,” Day said of the warm weather the past few days. “It's very stiff in the morning. But the back is kind of a non-issue. I mean, it's a little tight but when you have back spasms and everything kind of locks up, it's kind of a granted that it's going to be tight over the week. But to be able to have hot weather is huge.”
So too has his year. Day already has wins in San Diego, Canada and Wisconsin. Another one Sunday would give him as many wins as Spieth has this year and Day would leapfrog him in the FedExCup standings.
“Right now, the groove that I'm in, I'm trying to keep the same swing that I've been doing over the summer, and I'm not really trying to focus on, you know, winning (Sunday),” Day said. “Obviously it's hard to stay present, but I mean, I've just got to get some rest tonight and kind of come into (Sunday’s) round and be patient out there.
