South Korean military service derailed his golf career. Now he’s the Boise Open champ.

One by one, the players kept going low and finding their way to the top of the leaderboard during the final round of the Albertsons Boise Open on Sunday at Hillcrest Country Club.

As South Korean native Sangmoon Bae stood over his approach shot on the 18th hole, the leaderboard showed four golfers — including Bae — tied for the lead at 18-under par.

What was Bae thinking?

“I really need a birdie,” he said.

With 110 yards to the hole, Bae hit what he described as a “perfect” 56-degree wedge shot up the hill to the 18th green.

The ball landed 5 feet from the hole, and Bae just needed one solid putt to break the logjam and avoid a four-man playoff.

He sank the putt, and with it earned the $180,000 winner’s check.

“Incredible,” he said.

Bae has won before — on the PGA Tour twice, even. But Sunday’s win clearly meant a lot to him, because it was his first victory since his professional career was interrupted by a court-mandated stint in the South Korean military. He served from November 2015 to August 2017, and has since tried to regain his competitive edge on the golf course.

“I had a really great week this week. It was so successful,” Bae said. “This win means a lot after two years of military service. … I’ve struggled for almost a year.”

He said he felt like he almost had to revert to playing like he was a rookie again.

“I had to be more humble, more patient … I was trying too hard,” he said.

But he said he thought his win in Boise might lift his game back to where it was when he was competing and winning on the PGA Tour. The 32-year-old won the HP Byron Nelson Classic in 2013 and the Frys.com Open in 2015.

“I feel like I’m back,” Bae said.

Bae’s win certainly didn’t come easily.

First, Georgia Tech product Anders Albertson posted the best score of the week, a 9-under 62 to finish 18 under. The 25-year-old’s tourney was good enough to secure his first PGA Tour card.

Then Canadian Roger Sloan posted a final-round 63 to also finish at 18 under. And then Adam Schenk, a Purdue product, finished with a 64 to join the group.

Sloan and Schenk have played on the PGA Tour before, and they left Boise knowing they had locked up their return to golf’s biggest stage.

“We didn’t quite get the tournament victory,” Sloan said. “But at the end of the day we got a job promotion, so dinner’s going to taste good tonight.”

Making the best of Boise

All things being equal, Michael Thompson would rather be playing on the PGA Tour.

But when he comes to play in the Boise Open, he certainly tries to make the best of it.

The first time he played in the tournament, in 2016, he hoisted the winner’s trophy. On Sunday he fired a 6-under 65 to finish the tournament at 16 under, good for sixth place.

“If the tournament were to end right now, I’d get my (PGA Tour) card,” he said shortly after walking off the 18th tee.. “I still want to play well next week, just to improve my number.”

Regardless, he left Hillcrest with a positive impression again.

“I felt good all week, I like this golf course, obviously,” Thompson said. “I hit a lot of great shots. ... I wish there was a (PGA) Tour event out here.”

Thompson was one of three former Boise Open champions in the field, and they all made the cut.

Steve Wheatcroft, who won in 2014, finished at 11 under, and 2105 winner Martin Pillar finished at 7 under.

This story was originally published September 16, 2018 at 7:58 PM.