So, you may be wondering what she did this past week that was so convincingly great that at last the barriers crumbled, and Hee-Won entered the Sisterhood with nary an objection? And for that, we travel to Dublin, Ohio, the site of the Wendy's Championship for Children. That is, as soon as I put this scroll back in its receptacle...

Better! OK, on to Dublin. This was the location where, last year, Hee-Won continued another pretty impressive run. That year she managed two consecutive second place finishes, first at the Sybase Big Apple Classic, then at the Wendy's. Interestingly, both times she finished second to a fellow Korean. At the Sybase, it was Gloria Park who beat her (one of the chief arguments that maybe Gloria, and not Hee-Won, should have become the Fourth Sister). At the Wendy's, it was Mi Hyun Kim. Well, just three weeks ago, Hee-Won exacted a little revenge by capturing the Sybase, which had cruelly eluded her in 2002. And now she had a chance to make it two-for-two, and she wasn't going to let anything get in her way.

In fact, perhaps the most impressive thing about Hee-Won this week was her confidence. Whereas in the past, she always looked as though she was ready to start making mistakes, at this tournament, there was a strength of purpose about her I have never before seen. She seemed ready, willing and quite able to do whatever needed to be done to capture the trophy. As it turned out, there was quite a bit that would be required of her.

Hee-Won continued her hot play at the
Wendy's Championship
Reuters/John Sommers II

Hee-Won Han drives during round 2
Reuters/John Sommers II

The first round went well for Hee-Won, as she shot a 68. However, the course, which yielded an 8 under par winning score in 2002, proved to be considerably easier this time around. There had been oodles of rain, which made the fairways slower. But though this made the course play longer, it also made the greens hold shots much more readily. By contrast, in 2002, it had proved difficult to keep shots on the greens, and with the sheer number of water hazards on the course, this proved to be a very hairy situation. As a result of the easier conditions, the cut looked likely to fall around 1 or two over par (in fact, it ended up being even par, one of the lowest cuts of the year), and the leader, Candie Kung, fired an 8 under par 64. And so, even with a 68, Hee-Won still had four shots to make up on the leader after Friday's action.

On Saturday, bad weather forced a slight delay. Eventually Hee-Won got onto the course, and in short order began to move up the leaderboard. Kung continued to play well, however, and at the end of the day, she sat at 11 under par, still in the lead. But Hee-Won continued to climb, so that she, too, reached 11 under par with a 65. The stage was set for a duel between two young players who each had managed their maiden victories in 2003. By no means, however, should this be construed as meaning this was a two player race. After all, there were many talented players just a few shots off the lead, and judging by the low scores that had been shot so far, it was quite possible one of them could charge from behind to make some trouble.

And in fact that is exactly what happened. Juli Inkster made a move to surge from the pack, but the big gainer was Wendy Ward, who went out in a blistering pace to card a 7 under 29 on the front nine. But all of that gained her but a single stroke on Hee-Won, who smoked her playing partner Kung with a 30 on the front. So whereas at the start of the day it looked like Candie and Hee-Won would be slugging it out, by midway through the Sunday round, it had turned into a battle between Hee-Won and Ward.

Still, it looked as though Hee-Won might walk away with the trophy without much trouble, as she had at the Sybase. She moved to 7 under herself with a birdie on the par 5 11th, and even a bogey on 12 proved only a momentary stumble, as she came right back with a 12 foot birdie putt on 13. She sat at 18 under par, three shots ahead of Ward, and seemingly in control of her destiny. But Ward did not just sit idly by. In a portent of things to come, she sank a long putt on 15 for birdie, and followed that up with a very tight iron shot on the par 3 17th that she easily converted for birdie to move to 17 under par, just one shot behind Hee-Won.

Hee-Won shot a career best 65 during round 2
Reuters/John Sommers II