Fairways and Greens

South Koreans vs. North Koreans?
The Sunday, July 4, 2004, edition of the New York Times carried an article about the relationship between North and South Korea. In that article, they mentioned that a friendly golf tournament was to take place between top female players from North and South Korea at the end of the month. The competition will take place in P'yongy'ang, the capital of North Korea, at the only 18 hole course in the country.

The article goes on to describe how the South Koreans have become a powerhouse in the world of women's golf, and how this meeting is bound to be a mismatch of epic proportions. They mention Se Ri Pak, Grace Park and Aree Song as among the world class golfers from that country. But nowhere in the article is a definite date for this event or a list of which players (if any) from the LPGA might be attending. As far as I can tell, it might just be Korean amateurs, despite the name dropping mentioned above.

It does seem unlikely that any of the top Korean players on the LPGA will take time out before the British Open to fly back to Korea for a one day demonstration event, even if it is meant to foster harmony between the two Koreas. In any event, when I find out more, I'll pass it on!

Might Grace and Se Ri soon be doing
their bit for international diplomacy?

Don't forget to vote for the ESPYs!
Grace Park, Se Ri Pak and Michelle Wie are all nominated (along with Annika Sorenstam) for the ESPY for Best Female Golfer. Annika probably deserves it, but she always wins it, and isn't it about time a great player like Se Ri or Grace gets her due? I think so! So click on the logo at left to go to the voting page, and cast your vote. Voting ends on July 8th!

Latest Upper Deck sports card features two Sisters!
It had to happen sooner or later! Last year, the Upper Deck company, makers of fine collectible sports cards, for the first time released a set that included lady golfers. Among those in that set was Se Ri Pak, and she was represented by more than a dozen different cards. This year, they have released more Se Ri cards, and added Grace Park to the mix as well.

Well, hold on to your horses! The latest batch of releases includes this nifty number, which pictures both Se Ri AND Grace! Not only that, but each card also has a small swatch of an actual shirt worn by each lady in competition. Sure to be a treasured heirloom some day, so hold on to yours if ya get one!

The first sports card to feature TWO Seoul Sisters!

Money List
As usually happens, the US Women's Open has had a big effect on the standings on this year's money list. Annika's second place finish gives her a huge lead over everyone else, and probably assures her yet another money title by season's end. Meanwhile, Grace Park really struggled, and thus dropped behind Open Winner Meg Mallon into third on the list. Kimmie maintained her place, but Se Ri dropped to 8th, her lowest standing on the money list since before her Hall of Fame win in May. The big mover was Jeong Jang, who vaulted up to 13th, her best ever position on the list.