There are stories of people not coming home," Mr Ruig told the .css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link{color:#3F3F42;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited{font-weight:bolder;border-bottom:1px solid #BABABA;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:focus,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:focus{border-bottom-color:currentcolor;border-bottom-width:2px;color:#B80000;}@supports (text-underline-offset:0.25em){.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited{border-bottom:none;-webkit-text-decoration:underline #BABABA;text-decoration:underline #BABABA;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-skip-ink:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;text-underline-offset:0.25em;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:focus,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:focus{-webkit-text-decoration-color:currentcolor;text-decoration-color:currentcolor;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:2px;text-decoration-thickness:2px;color:#B80000;}}Courier-Mail newspaper. TWO Brisbane larrikins say they gatecrashed a North Korean golf tournament by tricking officials into believing they were two of Australia’s top athletes. [1], "Kim Jong-il's record-setting round may not have been all it was cracked up to be", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pyongyang_Golf_Course&oldid=964599555, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 26 June 2020, at 13:00. That aside, it seemed like a decent 18-hole championship course with somewhat narrow fairways, long grass off the fairways, and average greens. Morgan Ruig and Evan Shay, both 28, were on a polo trip in Beijing when they heard about the competition. “And we sort of ... didn’t say no. VideoThe blind school keeping students safe from Covid, A brand new hand, from my brother. Eleven different nations took part and the tournament was win by Claudio Consul who broke the course record. On holiday in North Korea North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il opened Pyongyang golf complex in 1987. “I hit 120 and my caddie told me I had bought great shame to my family,” Ruig said according to the BBC. The pair were some of the luckier travellers to pull a prank under the ever-watchful gaze of Kim Jong Un’s totalitarian regimen. He was tried and sentenced to six years’ hard labour but the US government managed to secure his release after 202 days. Its clubhouse covers 2,700 square metres (29,000 sq ft), includes a pro shop and a restaurant that is said to be the best in the country. He likes his golf. VideoShould I get a flu jab? The tournament was played in Callaway format. Third, it was one of the few times in my nine days in the DPRK that I got to interact on a regular basis with the locals. / AFP / JOHANNES EISELE (Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images), Sacha Baron Cohen: We Must Save Democracy From Conspiracies, How to Know When It's Time to Let Go of Someone You Love, The Overlooked Queer History of Medieval Christianity, You can unsubscribe at any time. “[The caddie] thought it would bring great shame on our family.”. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the date(s) you selected. The University of University of Virginia student was forced to confess and apologise on camera for “the worst mistake of my life” before he was found guilty of the “hostile act”. North Korea currently has two golf courses, one of them the currently out-of-use course at Mount Kumgang and the other, the Pyongyang Golf Club situated 27 km from Pyongyang city. It has been claimed by a Pyongyang Golf Club professional that Kim Jong Il shot a course record of 34 sometime in the early 1990s, including 5 holes in one. The pair managed to leave the secretive state unscathed.Source:Channel 9. Morgan Ruig and Evan Shay pretended to be pro golfers and played in an international tournament. “Initially we just said we were just a couple of Australian golfers and they said, ‘You are the Australian team’. As non-professional golfers, it’s no surprise that Ruig and Shay completely tanked in the competition, but they didn’t come in last. [7], The lowest gross score shot during the tournament is 70 by Claudio Consul in 2015. Mates Morgan Ruig and Evan Shay, both 28, were in China when they decided on a whim to compete in North Korea’s annual golf championships. Inside the ‘kitsch and psychedelic’ hotels in North Korea’s ... Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites.