thelastword MULLIGAN
The Independent Voice
Congratulations to America’s Zach Johnson on winning the 2015 British Open Championship. Johnson beat South African Louis Oosthuizen and Aussie Marc Leishman aſter a three way play-off at St Andrews, pocketing £1,150,000 for his troubles. Personally, I found this year’s tournament
lacked something – perhaps down to the absence of Rory McIlroy, who continues to recover from the ruptured ankle ligament that he sustained during a kickabout with friends at the beginning of July. At the time of writing this column, the latest on McIlroy is that it is touch and go whether he will be fit enough to play in the US PGA Championship later this month – the last major of 2015. Also missing from the last couple of days of the Open was anyone representing the Republic of Korea – or South Korea as we know it. Not much of a surprise in that, I hear you say. However, contrast this with the Women’s
British Open held at Turnberry at the end of July, which was won by Korea’s Inbee Park. Park saw off the challenge of fellow Korean Ko Jin-young to claim her seventh major at the age of 27, earning herself just under £300,000 in the process. This victory widened the gap between Park
and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko at the top of the women’s world rankings – Ko by the way was born in Korea. A glance at these world rankings reveals
that 12 of the top 25 women’s golfers, and 20 of the top 50, play under the Korean flag. Not bad going for a country with a population of around 51 million, some 2.5 million fewer than
the population of England. Put this into a worldwide perspective and
Korea accounts for around 0.7% of the world’s population. England’s sole representative in the
women’s top fiſty is Kettering’s Charley Hull, currently ranked 48th in the world. So why and how does Korea dominate
women’s golf to such an extent? Parents with talented young daughters with an interest in golf should take note. For a start, Korean society is ultra-
competitive and Korean fathers have a reputation for pushing their daughters far harder than anywhere else in the world. Many children attend school between 8:00am and 4:00pm, pop home for tea and then return to school for a second shiſt between 6:00pm and 9:00pm. When they get back home, they then do a couple of hour’s homework. Lack of space – Korea is roughly 25% smaller than England - means a lack of golf courses. However, this is more than made up by the proliferation of driving ranges and young golfers are brought up hitting a heck of a lot more golf balls in practice than their counterparts in the western world. This dedication to their work and their play
has certainly paid dividends where Korea’s women golfers are concerned. I can’t see it catching on though.
Happy Hacking! Mulligan
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