Two Australian men tricked the country of North Korea when they posed as members of the Australian Golf Team.
Morgan Ruig and Evan Shay became aware of the North Korean Golf Championships while on a polo trip in Beijing. The two-day tournament, which took place in Pyongyang at the country’s only golf course, included 85 participants from around the world.
As the men explained to the Daily Mail Australia, “We just emailed them really. I don’t think they’re massive on the internet over there so I don’t think they had many opportunities to research. We didn’t think we’d actually be accepted.”
North Korea’s inability to work “the Google” played directly into the Aussies hands. Impressed by the pair’s claim to a low handicap, and a couple of snazzy green jackets the two had doctored to look like official Australian Golf Team jackets, the country that made execution by anti-aircraft gun a thing extended the invite and Ruig and Shay “just went for it.”
How did the Australians do in the North Korean tournament? Not well, as they finished in 2nd-to-last place, a feat that really sheds light on the low standard of this tournament. North Koreans told the pair that their performance “brought shame upon their families.”
The two men returned to Australia, safe and unharmed by the North Koreans, their shame the lasting legacy of their short golfing career.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn