Magazine 2003 Takefuji

Volume 1, Number 4 April 23, 2003

Se Ri hits out of the sand, round 2
Reuters/Jeff Topping

Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Results

But oh, those greens. Try as Se Ri might, she just could not figure them out. It was amazing to watch her hit shot after shot within ten feet of the flag (and often within five feet), and just not be able to sink the putts. And they weren't bad putts, either, just a little off line, or a little slow, or seemingly perfect but ending up as lip outs. On Friday it was almost hard to watch, as she missed incredibly short par putts on 13 and 17, and literally a foot long par putt on 15, to undo a brief three birdie flurry that had raised her standing in the tournament measurably.

On the final day, despite all her fumbles on the green, she managed to get herself into contention when, for a few holes on the front nine, she started to find the bottom of the cup. Indeed, except for an unexpected bogey on the par 5 6th, she played a wonderful front nine, with birdies on 4, 5, 7 and 9 to warm her heart and move her to 8 under par, only two shots out of the lead. As the coverage started, we were treated to a lovely approach to within about 6 feet on 11. A betting man would be salivating after that shot. Se Ri, the back nine, only two shots out of the lead, her putter suddenly hot, her approaches magical...

Nope, not to be. She missed that putt. And another makeable one on 12. And on 13. Three golden opportunities, or so it seemed.

To be fair, Se Ri was not the only star bewitched by the short grass. Annika Sorenstam, too, missed her share of seeming gimmes, and Catriona Matthew, who at one point was in the lead, managed to miss two putts of about two feet each.

Reuters/Jeff Topping

On 14, Se Ri missed the green for the first time in a while, and was not able to make par. But on 15 she finally put her approach so close that it seemed she couldn't possibly miss the birdie. She made it, but even a two footer was cause for concern. It would be her last birdie of the tournament, and she closed with three pars to finish at 8 under and 6th place.

Se Ri can be pretty happy with her week, really. She mastered her driving finally, after an erratic start, and her irons could scarcely have been much better. And judging by her stroke, it was not her technique that cost her all those birdies, it was just an inability to understand the greens and how they would react to her shots. Hopefully that will be a temporary thing. In fact, I'd be willing to bet on it.