AS THE FIELD TURNS (AWAY)

By Torleif Sorenson on 4/22/13

Back on April 5, Spanish golfer Álvaro Quirós pulled out of the field for the European Tour's Ballantine's Championship, which is scheduled for this week at Black Stone Golf Club & Resort in South Korea. And while the news last week was dominated by the Boston Marathon terrorist bombing and a tragic fertilizer plant explosion in McLennan County, Texas, the tense situation caused by North Korea's new dictator, Kim Jong-Un remains.

Now, American golfers Dustin Johnson and 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson have joined Quirós in pulling out of the field for this week's event. The fact that they have pulled out of the event isn't really surprising. What is surprising is how the tournament sponsors are spinning this double-withdrawal:

"They have reached this decision following perceived unrest on the Korean peninsula."

Perceived? PERCEIVED??!!

In words and in military actions and movements, the North Koreans have already succeed in needlessly jacking up fears of border incursions, missile firings, and attacks on innocent, law abiding sailors on ships at sea. The likelihood is that the U.S. and South Korean military forces in the region are on high alert, and ready to respond with essentially no notice. But to add the "perceived" language was a blunder by the tournament organizers. While we hope that this marketing person doesn't turn out to be the next Neville Chamberlain or April Glaspie, the world's despots have surprised us before.

Let's hope that the hothead in Pyongyang and his rubber-stamp parliament get a clue and stop rattling their sabers.


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Image via Flickr, Secret in the Dirt

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