2003 Mizuno Classic Wrap-up

Here's how things were. Se Ri Pak followed up her great 67 with a sizzling 65, and *still* lost ground to Sorenstam. Granted, she did move up to a tie for second, but now sat 6 shots behind Annika with only one round to go, on a course where Annika had already won the previous two years. No matter how much confidence you have as a player, that has got to be a bit discouraging. Jung Yeon Lee followed her 65 with a 67 to tie Se Ri for 2nd at 12 under. Grace Park went out and shot a 68, and still lost ground; her 11 under par total left her in a tie for 4th. Mi Hyun Kim put together a 69 and remained in the top ten at 8th, while Christina Kim, who has not had a lot of great finishes of late, put together a very impressive 66 to vault up to a tie with Mi Hyun at 9 under par. As if that weren't enough, you also had Soo Yun Kang and Gloria Park lurking around the top ten in a tie for 13th at 7 under par.

Grace at last year's Mizuno

Christina Kim at this year's Safeway tournament
SeoulSisters.com photo

So a fan of the Seoul Sisters would doubtless be happy about the standings, except for the fact, of course, that Annika was almost certainly going to win this one, and probably going away. On Sunday, Se Ri and Jung Yeon got their chance to play with Annika, and though Annika 'slumped' to a 66, she still managed to break the all time record for low 54 hole score at 24 under par. Se Ri was not able to rise to that challenge, 'only' putting together a 3 under par 69, but her 15 under par total was good enough for a tie for second place, her third second place finish in her last four starts. Grace surged with a four under par 68 to join Se Ri in second, her second straight year of finishing runner up to Sorenstam in this event. Jung Yeon Lee was doubtless a bit intimidated playing in a pairing with the #1 and #2 women's golfers in the world; her even par round was one of the worst among the leaders, but still clinched her a tie for 7th at 12 under par. Gloria Park shot a 67 to join her in the top ten. Then Kangsy also made her leap into the top ten with a 68 that moved her into solo 9th, and lastly, Christina Kim shot a 71 to get her second top ten of the year. Interestingly, Christina managed a top ten in her first and her last event of 2003.

So six Seoul Sisters claimed top tens in this event, with Mi Hyun Kim just one shot out of a top ten in 13th with a 9 under par total. Their gaudy records in Japan continued, particularly Grace and Se Ri. Grace now has two second place finishes in this event plus her win at Cisco in 2002, while Se Ri has a second and a third in this event and the second in the 2001 Cisco. Not bad for an event where none of them really had a chance of winning. But they had to save something for next year, right?