Lone South Korean Bae will sit in opening Pres Cup session in home country
Perhaps the most curious decision International Presidents Cup captain Nick Price made on Wednesday was his choice to sit Sangmoon Bae, the lone home-country player, for the Thursday opening session.
The biennial matches are in South Korea for the first time in their 22-year history, so it made sense on paper for Bae to see some action on Day 1. Price, however, decided to keep Bae benched while his pre-determined partner Charl Schwartzel recovers from flu-like symptoms.
“It was certainly very tough, very tough [to sit Bae],” Price said when pressed on his decision.
“First of all, I didn’t want to break up the other teams that had played so well together. The other thing is Moon hasn’t played a lot of alternate shot. It was unfortunate because he and Charl played unbelievably well [in Tuesday practice, winning their in-group match].”
Two players from each team will have to sit in each of the first two days, which both feature a five-match session of two-man matches. So, the prospect of Bae sitting either of those days was out there. Korea will be somewhat represented on Thursday by Danny Lee, who will team with Steven Bowditch against Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson. Lee was born in Korea but moved to New Zealand when he was a child and considers it his homeland.
Price’s decision seems even more odd knowing Bae won back-to-back Shinhan Donghoe Opens on the host course, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. Price stuck to his guns, choosing not to displace another team simply to fit in Bae. The same decision may loom again on Thursday if Schwartzel isn’t feeling any better.
The International captain later tried to sound pragmatic, suggesting Bae was likely going to sit at least once during the matches anyhow thanks to rules changes negotiated by Price with the PGA Tour ahead of the Presidents Cup.
“The thing is everyone has to play twice [before singles],” Price said. “I looked at what [the U.S.] did with their pairings, and it was a tough one, but this is how we have it set up.”
Bae, one of Price’s two wild-card picks for the team of 12, could have given an instant spark to an International team that hasn’t won the opening Presidents Cup session since 2005 and hasn’t won an overall match since 1998.
The Frys.com Open winner from last season is also set to suspend his professional golf career after this week. All South Korean men must serve a 21-month term in the military between the ages of 18-35 unless they get a special exemption. Despite his best efforts, Bae was unable to secure a continued exemption while he pursues his career. Rather than fight in courts more or give up his Korean citizenship altogether, Bae will enter the military by the end of the year.
Needless to say, this moment could have meant a lot to him.
“I’ll be very happy, and I’ll be genuinely honored, especially because personally I’m going through a lot of things these days,” Bae said when asked Tuesday about what it would mean to hear his name called on the first tee on Thursday. “It will mean a lot to me, so I’m determined to do my very best.”
That moment will have to wait a day.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
