Trump lauds Korean female golfers
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U.S. President Donald Trump and his first lady Melania greet National Assembly representatives after delivering a speech at the National Assembly, Wednesday. Lawmakers from the left-wing Minjung Party are seen holding signs that read “No war. We want peace.” / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
U.S. President Donald Trump lauded Korean golfers on the LPGA Tour during his National Assembly speech, Wednesday, saying they are “some of the best on Earth.”
Trump noted that Park Sung-hyun, the first rookie to top the LPGA rankings, won the U.S. Women’s Open held in June at Trump National Golf Club -- one of his 17 golf courses around the world.
The top four finishers, as well as eight of the top 10, at the annual competition attended by Trump were from Korea.
Trump complimented them while addressing Korea as a “tremendously successful nation” and saying he hoped Korea would be a “faithful ally of the United States very long into the future.”
His remark on the Korean golfers drew laughter and applause from the lawmakers during an otherwise serious speech as he spent much of the time denouncing Pyongyang.
“Your wealth is measured in more than money. It is measured in achievements of the mind and achievements of spirit, and Korean golfers are some of the best on Earth,” he said. “In fact -- and you know what I'm going to say -- the women’s U.S. Open was held this year at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. And it just happened to be won by a great Korean golfer, Sung-hyun Park, and eight of the top 10 players were from Korea. And the top four golfers _ one, two, three, four -- the top four were from Korea. Congratulations.”
The U.S. president said his country is helping South Korea “beyond what any other country has ever done” and that the two allies “will work things out far better than anybody understands or can even appreciate.”
He added, “I know that the Republic of Korea, which has become a tremendously successful nation, will be a faithful ally of the United States very long into the future.”
Trump, a real estate tycoon-turned-president, is known to be a golf lover.
Trump played golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo when he visited the country before making a two-day trip here from Tuesday to Wednesday.
The real estate tycoon-turned-president owns 17 golf courses worldwide including in Scotland, Ireland and Miami.
He criticized his predecessor Barack Obama for playing golf “too often,” but a U.S. media survey in July showed Trump has spent 22 percent of his time in office on the golf course.