Highlights and Lowlights

Grace Park's Place
Majors are getting to be Park Place. It's hard to remember that before last year's LPGA Championship, Grace had not ever seriously contended at a Major. But in that event, she came from well back to force a playoff with Annika Sorenstam. She followed that up with another come from behind effort at the US Women's Open to finish 10th, and a great battle at the British Open that resulted in a 3rd place finish. This year she merely won the first Major of the year by sinking one of the most clutch birdie putts in LPGA history, and though she was not able to make it two Majors in a row, her third place finish at this year's LPGA Championship was another feather in her cap. Grace did have an injury that occurred on Saturday, and we'll never know how much it may have impacted her just when she needed to spring. But regardless, she will hopefully be fit as a fiddle in time for the next Major, the US Women's Open, in three weeks time.

Kangsy's Major Pace
Another player who has not had a lot of Major success is Soo Yun Kang. In fact, incredibly, she had never even made the cut in a Major before last year's British Open, where she finished 24th. She followed that up with a 62nd place at this year's Nabisco, still hardly a great finish.

But this week, she got off to one of her patented quick starts and hung in there until the end. Her 8th place finish is her first top ten in a Major, but probably not her last.

Christina Kim in outer space
Christina Kim reached a state of 'nirvana', as she put it, at the start of her third round at the LPGA Championship. She shot a 5 under par 30, and said later she felt as though she were floating 17 inches off the ground as she walked down the fairway. Then the realization hit her that she still had 27 holes to play, and her game came down to Earth. Still, she shot a blistering 64 in the third round, one of the most impressive rounds in Major history. But not surprising from the woman who holds the all time record for lowest round ever shot in *any* USGA event, by a man or a woman, a 62, which she produced in the US Girl's Championship a few years ago.

Shi Hyun and the Rookie Race
Shi Hyun Ahn was already leading the Rookie of the Year race before this week's Major, but she had a slim margin over 18 year old Aree Song and a not much bigger margin over third place Seol-An Jeon. That all changed after her second place finish at the LPGA Championship, however. The standings now show Shi Hyun at 493 points, with Aree Song second at 369 and Seol-An Jeon third at 315. Korean rookies have now finish second at the first two Majors; Aree was second, you may recall, at the Nabisco. Does that bode well for Seol-An at the Women's Open? Time will tell, but I wouldn't bet against any of these ladies!

Grace chips on Saturday

Don't mess with Christina's Chi!

Shi Hyun: the next great Korean star?