Female golfers ready for gold at zoo-like course

South Korean female golfers (from left) Kim Sei-young, Park In-bee, coach Pak Se-ri, Yang Hee-young and Chun In-gee pose, Monday, after completing their practice rounds for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics women’s golf tournament at the Olympic Golf Course, which will tee off today. / Yonhap

By Choi Ha-young

South Korean women golfers are gearing up to clinch gold at the Rio Games as the sport has returned to the Olympics after a 112-year absence.

With the women’s golf starting Wednesday, the players are greeted by Brazil’s exotic animals popping up at the “environment-friendly” golf courses.

“A huge rat was standing right next to the third hole. It was scary,” Chun In-gee, last year’s U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship winner, told Yonhap during her practice round, Monday. “I will try not to send my ball near any hazard, not to mention the huge mouse.”

This animal is called a capybara, the largest rodent in the world. It is one meter in length and can weigh up to 65 kilograms. Despite its large body, it doesn’t attack humans but rather freezes in front of the camera.

“There are about 30 to 40 of them inside the course perimeter, but they live here and we play golf here, we co-exist,” Mark Johnson, director of international agronomy for the PGA Tour, told the National Post.

On the same day, the country’s star golfer Park In-bee was met with a mini crocodile. Three to four caiman crocodiles reportedly live there, but they don’t attack humans either.

The newly built golf course features an environment-friendly design. About 15 kilometers away from the Olympic Park where the sports facilities are located, the course has been endorsed by the Golf Environment Organization.

The golf course is also the most suitable place to provide a stable residence for coruja owls. A sign near 12th hole that reads: “In front of owls’ home. Watch your step.”

At the zoo-like course, monkeys, boa constrictors and sloths are also found, but no Zika mosquitoes as has been a previous concern. Austrian golfer Bernd Wiesberger reported his first day on twitter on Aug 10, “Start of the day: capybaras 2, caimans 1, owls 3, and mosquitoes 0.”

After the men’s competition last week, the women’s competition will be held from Wednesday through Saturday. The South Korean women’s team led by coach Pak Se-ri aims to sweep the medals.

During a practice round, Monday, Park In-bee scored a hole-in-one. “Hopefully, this hole-in-one will be a good omen for the actual tournament,” she told reporters. Park has been suffering from back and finger injuries this year.

South Korean golfer Kim Sei-young will compete with world No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn from Thailand and Stacy Lewis from the U.S. “Rather than taking care of the opponents, winning the fights against the environment seems more important,” Kim said at a press conference in Rio, Monday.