Kim Jong Il & Bill Clinton Both Cheat at Golf

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has been prominent in the news this week because former President Clinton went to Pyongyang to arrange for the release of two American reporters that were captured on their border and sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp.

Observers say that Kim had instrcuted the journalists that if they were able to deliver Clinton to Pyongyang, then they could get their release.  In other words, Kim just wanted to the world to feel like he was on par with Slick Willy.

Well, the two men apparently are on par on the links.  They both cheat at golf.

In 1994, Pyongyang's first golf course was opened and Il was there to play.  State media reported that Il made 11 holes-in-one and scored 38 under par (17 eagles and a hole-in-one on a par 5).  I'm pretty sure Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, and David Duval would want to question his math.

As the Guardian retells, in 2000, New York Times reporter Don Van Natta Jr. played with Clinton.  Apparently Bill got a do-over or any of his bad shots.  Van Natta concluded that "[Clinton] followed the rules . . . for about a hole and a half."

Now, Time Magazine is reporting that President Barack Obama is taking time out of his busy job as global messiah to hit the links on the weekends.  And he is an honest player - not afraid to take an 11.  But he is a big trash-talker.

There's a great quote in the Time piece that really is true.

"You can really tell a person's personality by the way he plays golf," says Wellington Wilson, a longtime golf buddy.

For Clinton, his cheating and piss-poor game may go a long way in explaining Paula Jones, Gennifer Flowers, and Monica Lewsinky.

For Kim Jong Il, it may shed some light on his Napoleonic complex, how warped his mind is, and what he really wants from the global community - for no one to call his bluff.