2003 Mizuno Classic Wrap-up

The Korean stars of the LPGA seem to like playing in Japan. A lot.

Just look at Se Ri Pak's record in Japan the last two years. She has played four events, and finished in the top three three times. At the Mizuno, she followed up a solid 2002 effort which found her finishing third with this year's second place tie. At the Cisco World Match Play, which was not played in 2003, she finished second in 2001, barely losing to Annika Sorenstam 1 up in the finals. Indeed, for Se Ri, 2002's Cisco was the only blip on her resume; she lost in the first round that year.

Grace Park, too, has enjoyed her time in Japan. She went on to win last year's Cisco Match Play Championship. The next week, she finished second at the Mizuno. Hee-Won Han started her professional career in Japan, playing on the JLPGA, where in 1998 she became Rookie of the Year. Reportedly she speaks fluent Japanese. In 2002, she had a great time at the Cisco Match Play, advancing to the semifinals before losing in extra holes to Midori Yoneyama.

Grace lifts the big plate after winning
the Cisco World Match Play Championship
in Japan last year

Gag me with a spoon! Grace finished 2nd
at last year's Mizuno

Yes, the Korean women have had some good results in Japan over the last few years. But the problem is, one player has had a much better record than they, and that is Annika Sorenstam. Over the same two years, while Se Ri, Grace and Hee-Won were racking up top threes, Annika was collecting wins. She won the Mizuno in 2001 and 2002, and the Cisco in 2001. Only in 2002's Cisco was her streak broken; she lost that event in the first round, just like Se Ri had.

Sorenstam came into the Mizuno a two-time defending champion, so it should come as no surprise that she played well. But it must have been frustrating for the Korean women, particularly Se Ri and Grace, who played really well and still were blown out of the water. The course was definitely playing easy, but even so, some of the scores this year were incredible.

Take Se Ri for example. Usually, she gets off to a rather slow start in most events. But at the Mizuno, she put together a pretty good 5 under par 67 to open. It put her solidly in the hunt in 5th place. Grace Park did even better, smoking the course for a 7 under par 65, while Jung Yeon Lee, continuing her hot play of late, matched that score. All impressive tallies, but Annika Sorenstam still did them two better with a blistering 63. A bit frustrating, perhaps, but the Seoul Sisters had nothing to be ashamed about, for after the first day, you had Grace and Jung Yeon tied for 2nd, Mi Hyun Kim in 4th at 6 under, Se Ri tied for 5th, and Hee-Won Han tied for 10th after a four under par 68. Tons of possibilities, and it was only one day, after all. Players did not tend to follow great round with great round, so hopefully they would be able to make up some ground on Sorenstam on Saturday.

But then a funny thing happen. Annika refused to play badly. In fact, she played very very very well, eventually matching her 63 with a second one on day two. Not often in the history of the LPGA has someone put together an 18 under par start for two rounds; in fact, only Sorenstam herself has beaten that, at the tournament where she shot the 59 in round 2.

Se Ri putts during last year's Mizuno.
Photos of this year's event were
impossible to find for some reason