“PRO” File – Touring Professional Sang Moon Bae

Imagine being a world-class athlete at the top of your game, and then imagine having to spend two of your prime years serving in the military. For Americans and others during World War II, this wasn’t unusual, but in the 21st century, it’s quite an anomaly. However, this was the situation facing Korea’s Sang Moon Bae in 2015, when he entered the Korean military after winning an event on the PGA Tour and securing four other top-10 finishes, and winding up 26th on the FedEx Cup points list. Bae returns as a fully-exempt player for 2017-18, but so far his results haven’t been to his normal standard, having made just one cut in his first four appearances in his return to the game. Obviously, his competitive game has some rust as he played very little golf the past two years, but the talented Korean should be able to find his game before the year is out. “Even though I didn’t get to play much, I grew to love golf even more,” Bae said. He was able to stay in shape with cardiovascular and weightlifting workouts. Although, he wasn’t too fond of military service, saying, “From the day when I was a private second class, a private first class and even the last day of the service, I wanted to be discharged from the military.”