Bryson DeChambeau after costly three-putts: ‘I’ve got to rethink what’s going on’

NAPA, Calif. – Sangmoon Bae entered this week’s Safeway Open with 109 PGA TOUR starts. He’s won twice – including here at Silverado in 2014 – and has felt the immense pressure of trying to win the Presidents Cup in his native Korea. Yet on Thursday, he “felt like a rookie.� It’s certainly understandable. Bae was playing his first competitive round on the PGA TOUR in two years, having recently finished his country’s mandatory military service that began right after the 2015 Presidents Cup. Until this week, the last time he had been seen on TOUR was his Sunday Singles match against Bill Haas, the final one of the day at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Course Korea in Incheon. The outcome of the event hinged on his match, which wasn’t decided until the final hole. It was a gallant effort by Bae … and then he was gone. Now he’s back, playing under a Mandatory Obligation Exemption that, for purposes of priority ranking, is the same as a Major Medical Exemption. He’ll have 27 events to earn 365 FedExCup points, the equivalent of the No. 125 player on last season’s points list, to keep his TOUR card. Things started well Thursday. He birdied his first hole after a 307-yard tee shot that found the fairway, an approach that landed 28 feet from the pin, and a putt that thrilled the gallery, which included many fans from Korea. But soon the rust kicked in, as he bogeyed four consecutive holes from Nos. 3-6. He managed to settle down after that, playing a bogey-free 2 under the rest of the way for a 1-over 73. Consider it a very respectable score given the two-year absence. “I missed being on a golf course so much and couldn’t wait to be back on it,� said Bae, who hit seven of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens. “… I was so happy on the course, but the score wasn’t great. … A two-year absence is maybe too long to overcome, but I think I’m on the right track.� While Bae served in the military, his only opportunity to play golf came during holiday breaks that he spent with his family. Those few days every month, he would play with his parents, hoping to maintain at least some of the skills that once had him ranked inside the world’s top-30 players. “I tried not to lose my golf skill,� he said. “A little bit lost, but I did the best I could.� In mid-September, he returned to competitive golf at the Shinhan Donghae Open on the Asian Tour, missing the cut with rounds of 74-75. It’s that competitive mindset he admits is the thing his game most lacks. He just needs reps, and he’s hoping to make the cut this week and then he plans to play the TOUR’s newest event, the CJ Cup @Nine Bridges in Korea in two weeks. “I lost the feel, kind of competition feel,� he said. “I think I shot 5 under yesterday on pro-am day. The real round is really different. “The most important key is playing the tournament, just playing. Not a practice round, just a real tournament round. … I have a lot of golf in the future, so it’s what I need.� Perhaps another Presidents Cup will be in his future. He said he watched last week’s event, obviously pulling for his International Team. The next one will be in Melbourne in two years. “I hope to be there,� he said.

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From the Office of the Commissioner: The PGA TOUR announced today that Mark Hensby has violated the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Policy for failing to provide a drug testing sample after notification and has been suspended for a period of one year. He will be eligible to return on October 26, 2018.  The TOUR will have no further comment on the suspension at this time.

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