Sang-moon Bae regains PGA Tour card with Boise Open win
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Sang-moon Bae regains PGA Tour card with win at Albertsons Boise Open
In 2015, Sang-moon Bae finished T18 at the Tour Championship and then left the PGA Tour to fulfil his two-year military obligation in South Korea. When he came back at the start of the 2017-18 season, he struggled – making just five cuts in 17 starts and finishing 202nd on the FedEx Cup standings to lose his PGA Tour card.
But on Sunday, after a short detour to the Web.Com finals, Bae confirmed his return to the PGA Tour for the 2018-19 season. Bae birdied the final hole of the tournament to card a five-under 66 at the Albertsons Boise Open and win the tournament by a single shot.
“I talked to my caddie Matt and we needed a birdie on the last,” Bae said after his win at Hillcrest CC.
“I had a perfect number for my second with 110 yards to the hole and I perfectly hit a 56-degree wedge. (I feel) just so successful this week, and after the military service it means a lot. I feel like I’m back.”
32 year old Bae, who is a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR, served as a rifleman in the South Korean Army and talked about what it felt like to return after two years away from the sport.
“I thought it would not take that long (to get my game back), but I have struggled for almost a year,” Bae said. “My game is not that much different, but maybe a little (different) mentally. (This year), it’s a little different in my mind because I feel like I’m back to being a rookie. (I’m) more humbled and more patient.”
Bae now moves from 11th to first on the Web.Com Finals money list heading in to the Web.Com Tour Championship next week.
