2 Australian men pretended to be pro golfers and faked their way into the North Korean Open
Two Australian men pulled off one of the most elaborate sports pranks the world has ever seen. In the past we’ve seen fans get access to areas by pretending they’re members of the media, but Morgan Ruig and Evan Shay went a step further -- they pretended they were professional golfers and faked their way into the North Korean Open.
Getting in was relatively simple: They just emailed North Korea. Suspecting officials didn’t have a great way to check whether they were professional golfers, Ruig and Shay received a response saying they’d been accepted to play in Pyongyang.
Getting accepted was only part of the battle. They had to look the part too, so Ruig and Shay, a real estate agent and builder respectively, had fake Australian blazers made so they would look official.
These two guys would have gotten away with it, too — except there was one problem: Neither of them could play golf. Not in the sense that they just weren’t up to professional standards, no, neither of them every really played. They characterized their experience as “barely casual,” and here they were standing next to professionals.
When Shay hooked the ball into the water his North Korean caddy turned to him, disappointed, and told him the pair they had “brought great shame upon [their] families.”
This story is beautiful. It’s pure. Stuff like this just shouldn’t happen ever — not to mention the absolute guts it takes to prank North Korea and expect you’ll walk out scot-free, but Ruig and Shay did. Officials realized quickly they were not professional golfers, but they played on. The pair were scared they would get held up at immigration trying to leave the country, horror stories fresh in their minds, but they made it out.
In the end, Ruig and Shay finished second- and third-last — shooting over 120. The only competitor who did worse than them: The Nepalese ambassador’s 15-year-old daughter. You can’t make this up.
Faking your way into a professional golfing event might seem like a once-in-a-lifetime moment, but the pair already have plans for 2017. They want to compete in the Somali Open in March, and vow that this time they might practice enough to look convincing.
h/t Daily Mail
