Ex-MLB Pitcher Park Chan-ho Promotes LIV Golf Korea, Draws Parallels with Baseball

By Yoo Jee-ho BUSAN, May 31 (Yonhap) -- In the days leading up to and during LIV Golf Korea, former major league pitcher Park Chan-ho has been omnipresent at Asiad Country Club in Busan. On Wednesday, he was hitting bombs off the tee in his pro-am round on the par-70 course in this southeastern city. Then on Thursday and Friday, the first two days of LIV Golf's South Korean tournament, Park stood next to the first tee to watch stars begin their rounds and mingled with tour officials and guests in a hospitality tent. Park, the first South Korean to play in Major League Baseball (MLB), has been helping to promote the tournament in and around Busan, upon request from 4Aces Golf Club (GC)'s general manager, Chris Rosaasen. The two had developed a friendship playing golf in the United States, and Park, decked out in a polo and a cap featuring 4Aces GC's logo, said he was more than happy to oblige. "The PGA Tour seems uptight but LIV Golf is a lot more fun and energetic," Park said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Friday at Asiad Country Club. "This feels like a festival. Hosting a tournament like this in Korea shows how much Korean golf has grown. For me personally, I get to learn so much by attending these sporting events and meeting people from so many different backgrounds." After wrapping up his trailblazing career, highlighted by 124 wins in MLB, Park became an avid golfer. He even played in three KPGA Tour events -- twice in 2022 and once in 2023 -- on sponsors' exemptions, though he missed the cut in all three. The former pitcher said he sees many similarities between baseball and golf. "I've finally learned when to keep the driver in the bag and hit the tee shot with an iron to keep the ball in the fairway. Trying to make birdies isn't always the answer. On some difficult holes, you have to learn how to take your pars," Park said. "As pitchers, you can't strike out every batter. You have to get some of them out on contact. The way you have to manage these situations is so similar. That's what makes golf so fun. It's hard not to get obsessed with it." Park also likened hitting a tee shot in golf to throwing a first pitch from the mound. "If you keep your tee shot in the fairway, then it makes the rest of the whole easier. By the same token, throwing your first pitch for a strike helps you," Park said. "But then again, just because you throw a ball with the first pitch, it doesn't mean you've lost that at-bat. And just because you put your tee shot in the rough, it isn't the end of your hole. You can still salvage something from there. So golf feels like an extension of baseball." Park said he has played golf with many current and former baseball players, including former MLB pitchers Seo Jae-weong and Kim Sun-woo and current Korea Baseball Organization star Ryu Hyun-jin, who also pitched in MLB for 10 years. Park said he always finds it fascinating that those baseball players' tendencies on the field are easily noticeable on the golf course. He cited Ryu as a prime example. "Hyun-jin is not a power pitcher. He relies on his control," Park said. "And when playing golf, he's the same way. He's very accurate with his shots. It's so interesting that these former pitchers play golf the way they played baseball."