Playing in the penultimate group, Se Ri put on the kind of golfing clinic her fans have been waiting all year to see (but alas, only those lucky fans at the tournament got to see it, because this event was not televised). She scored quickly with birdies on holes 2 and 3, both putts from a distance of about 20 feet. After a few pars, she really dialed it in: an approach to two feet on 6 which started a string of three straight birdies. She went out in five under par 29, and the fun was just getting started.

Meanwhile, Laura Diaz was playing solid if unspectacular golf one group behind her. Surely she could not have ignored the frenzy that was being generated ahead of her, as Se Ri made birdie after birdie, and her loyal fans cheered her on to ever greater heights. It had to be a bit unnerving.

The putts fell for Se Ri on Saturday
Sports Today

Storm clouds halted the action after 13 holes
Reuters/Tim Aubry

Se Ri finally caught Diaz, who had started the day four shots ahead of her, with a birdie on 10. She added another at 11, and another at 12, and suddenly she was 8 under par for the day. Her record, her incredible 61, was only 10 under, and two par 5s loomed ahead of her. Assuming she made birdie on those two (and you wouldn't bet against her, given the way she was playing), that meant the unthinkable was possible: she would have 4 more holes to make two more birdies to become the second player to break 60. Even a 58 might be possible. The crowd was crazy with anticipation.

But Se Ri parred the 13th, and left herself a lengthy birdie on 14. At that point, she had a two shot lead, although another player was now starting to threaten Diaz for second. And that player was none other than newly crowned Seoul Sister Hee-Won Han, who rightly deserved the title 'hottest player in golf' for her relentless brilliance over the past month. Se Ri needed to keep putting birdies on the board to not only hold off Diaz but Han as well.

And then something completely unexpected happened. The clouds had been ominously gathering, and suddenly a storm hit, halting play for the day. A bad break for Se Ri; she would not only have her momentum towards a record ruined, but would also have to play 23 holes on Sunday; the rest of her third round in the morning, then 18 more in the afternoon.

Alas, when she got back the next morning, her mojo was gone. She was still hitting the fairways and greens, but not making the putts. So much for the record. Still, except for a missed green that led to a bogey on 18, she made few mistakes, and that meant she finished with a 64 and a one shot lead. That lead was over Han, so the two Korean powerhouses would be paired in the final round just a few hours later. Se Ri knew she'd have to get her rhythm back before that happened.

But another funny thing happened. Namely, on a course that had often yielded low scores, few players were playing all that well. Diaz and other contenders such as Jung Yeon Lee slid backwards early in their rounds and never recovered. A few players, like Mi Hyun Kim and Heather Bowie, were playing well, but they were too far back to threaten the leaders. And then Hee-Won bogeyed her first hole, giving Se Ri a two shot cushion right off the bat.

Se Ri pounds the turf during round 4
AP Photo/Daniel Miller

Se Ri fought hard throughout Sunday's action
AP Photo/Daniel Miller

But Se Ri was not able to capitalize, and Hee-Won eventually made a birdie to crawl back to within one. On six they traded birdies, and Se Ri maintained her lead, then birdied the par 5 7th to climb to a two shot cushion again. But Hee-Won birdied nine to again climb to within one. Se Ri knew her tenacious opponent was not going to go away.

But the player who only one week earlier had refused to lose despite an awesome onslaught from Wendy Ward found it hard to pull the trigger whenever she got close. Thus, as soon as she had climbed to within one, she bogeyed the tenth to fall two back again. Another bogey on twelve, and Se Ri had a comfortable three shot lead at 15 under par with only five holes to go. Certainly things were looking good for Se Ri unless Hee-Won got her game together pronto.