SIX years ago I took something of an indirect route home from the Ryder Cup in Paris. It’s not a difficult journey to organise, of course, but to return home via Helsinki and Seoul was a little on the willfully bizarre side.

It was not entirely golf-determined – I was keen to see Korea and, in particular, to visit the DMZ – but I attended a couple of LPGA events as part of a mission to get to the heart of the nation’s modern affection for golf.

Almost immediately, I discovered that many common notions of the country simply didn’t stack up. I’d read, for example, that the sport had become wildly popular and everyone was talking about Korean women’s success abroad and the growing strength of the men’s game.

In reality, the family I stayed with during the first week dissolved into a delightful giggling fit when I explained my job, knew next to nothing about golf and had no idea a big tournament was taking place down the road (even though the faces of the stars were on big posters throughout town). Nor was this blissful ignorance an exception; it was very definitely the norm.

Another Korean stereotype, one popular science is keen to promote when discussing the explosion of women’s golf, is that the people have some sort of inherent drive to be the very best they can be in their chosen field. Wandering the streets of Seoul I wondered why so many Koreans appeared just like everyone else, pottering along and getting by. It’s also true that while I drank plenty of good coffee, the folk serving me were in no feverish rush to become the Se Ri Park of the barista world.

And yet the longer I was in Seoul, the more I understood why those Koreans who do choose golf become so devoted to it because there is a sense that if Koreans fall for something, they go all in. It’s revealed in the fan clubs of K-pop stars – and indeed among fans of Korean women golfers who are fiercely loyal, to the point of creating mental health problems for their favourite players.

It’s even obvious in the many wonderful small bars that dot the capital’s streets. One tiny establishment had three beer taps, a record player and what appeared to be a wide selection of LPs racked on the wall. On closer inspection, every artist began with the same letter. That’s why the bar was called B. It was gloriously bonkers.

As is the fact that many nations in the world have seen a boom in city centre indoor golf facilities, often involving a bar, but it is in Korea that this has given rise to a flourishing population of professional indoor golfers playing a tour that provides them with a very good living.

Which leads us to last week’s winner on the Asian Tour Hongtaek Kim, aka the King of the Screen, who is a star on the G Tour (the golf simulator circuit) and has now taken his biggest step forward on grass. “There was a misunderstanding that I was only good at simulator golf,” the 30-year-old said after winning the Maekyung Open. “I solved the misunderstanding today. Competing in championships in simulator golf has helped relieve tension.” Tremendous stuff. Proof that the world is always at its best when it’s a little bit weird.

The PGA Tour, meanwhile, is at Quail Hollow this week for the Wells Fargo Championship. It’s a fine course and a title worth winning, not least because it is now one of the circuit’s Signature events. Here are three to follow.

Cameron Young

Three-time course winner Rory McIlroy is a worthy favourite and two-time tournament winner Max Homa is a big threat. But we’ll stick with Cameron Young for whom this test should suit with its emphasis on the long game and driving in particular. True, he did little more than make the cut on course debut last year but he was in a form funk at the time. He has five top 10s this season, two of them in his last three starts.

 

Harris English

Harris English is a five-time starter at Quail Hollow and he’s yet to miss a cut. Moreover, he was third 12 months ago. That result kicked off 12 months of solid golf which has seen him miss only three cuts and it is notable that most of his best golf has been produced in major championships or on major-level layouts (which Quail Hollow is). He was eighth at the US Open, tenth at Olympia Fields, seventh at Riviera and T22nd at the Masters. That latter result is one of six top 30s in his last seven starts.

 

Lucas Glover

In his hey day Lucas Glover enjoyed playing Quail Hollow. He was tenth on debut in 2004, fourth in 2006, second in 2009 and the winner in 2011. Last summer he rediscovered the winning touch, landing the Wyndham Championship and St Jude Championship in back-to-back starts. Since then he has been remorseless – playing four rounds in 14 of 15 starts – without finishing higher than T11th. But the spark for those wins last year was a warm enough putter to make the most of his excellent tee to green game. He’s a supermarket own brand Scottie Scheffler, if you like. At the Masters that putter was warmer than it has been since last summer’s hot spell. If he can maintain that while reviving Quail Hollow memories he can go well at a big price.

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