KAPALUA, Maui » If there is anyone who has more pressure on him to win at this week’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions than Sang-Moon Bae, please stand up.
The South Korean opened with a 7-under 66 on Friday to lead for most of the day before Russell Henley caught and passed him with a 65. For Bae, winning a tournament of this magnitude might be what he needs to avoid returning home for a two-year stint in the military.
The 28-year-old Bae will take legal action against his home country after the government refused to extend his visa beyond 2014. Unless something changes, he has to return to South Korea at the end of the month.
Prior to Friday’s press conference, Bae refused any direct questions about his dilemma. Instead, a statement on his behalf was released last week regarding these tricky circumstances:
"Sang-Moon Bae is seeking legal counsel to work through the military issues in Korea. He has a valid green card, and Sang-Moon intends to stay in the United States as long as it is lawful to do so and play on the PGA Tour this year, beginning with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua. As this is an ongoing legal matter, he will make no additional statements until the issue is resolved."
Bae qualified for this winners-only tournament with a victory at the Frys.com Open last fall. He has won twice on tour and is No. 84 in the World Golf rankings. He received an invitation to play in the Masters in April.
Bae thought receiving his green card in 2013 gave him permanent resident status. He has not sought American citizenship, and plans to play for the International Team in the President’s Cup, which will be held in Incheon, South Korea, this fall.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu faced a similar situation. He helped the South Koreans get the gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and again in 2010 at the Asian Games. Players on those teams were exempt from military service. South Korea is still technically at war with North Korea, so not serving is a big deal.
Bae said he plans to play in the Olympics in 2016 and was hopeful this — and being the top-rated South Korean on the PGA Tour — would aid in his cause. At the moment, that is not the case, putting a lot of pressure on Bae as he continues to play through Monday’s final round.
He fashioned eight birdies and one bogey on the difficult Plantation Course and did respond to one question about his situation. When asked if it was hard to focus with all that was going on in his life outside of golf, he said, "Actually a little bit, yeah, a little bit hard to focus on my game, because I got a little trouble, but I try to split things.
"But I don’t want to think about it, the other things on the course. So yeah, I think I did really good today. I really do — I really, really do the next three days, also."
