Fairways and Greens

Futures Tour Season Ends; Jimin tops money list!
The Futures Tour season came to an end two weeks ago, and with its end, the top five players on the money list nabbed their tour cards for the LPGA in 2005. To no one's surprise, Jimin Kang, who has led the money list much of the season, hung on and grabbed the top spot at season's end. What's a little disappointing is that Jimin had a great chance to win the final event of the year, the York Newspaper Company FUTURES Classic. Jimin had the lead going into the final round after shooting back to back 69's the first two days. She got out to a great start with birdies on three of the first five holes, to bolster her lead. But on the 8th hole, she got a slow play penalty of one shot on the tee, and another on the green. She made birdie on 9, but the slow play penalty definitely affected her, and she made several more bogeys on the back side, eventually dropping to a 4th place finish. It's always a drag when the referees have such a big effect on the outcome, but Jimin wasn't complaining, for her finish was good enough for her to secure her LPGA tour card for 2005 as well as the top spot on the money list for 2004. "I'm ready to move on, but I just can't believe the summer is over", she enthused. Besides player of the year honors, Jimin also finished 2004 ranked #1 in sub-par rounds (50%), held a 71.625 scoring average, and was ranked in the top three in birdies made and greens in regulation. Good luck next year, Jimin!

Meanwhile, the other Korean to qualify for her tour card was Aram Cho, who finished 4th on the money list. Cho also won Rookie of the Year honors on the tour as the top Rookie on the money list. How did the other Korean players do? Well, finishing in the top 16 gives you a free pass to the final round of Q-School. The Koreans who did that were: Naree Song, who finished 14th (and had one win on tour this year), #11 Young Jo, #10 Seon Hwa Lee (who had several top three finishes in 2004 but just couldn't eke out a win), #8 Kyeoung Bae, and #7 Sung Ah Yim. Good luck to those ladies in Q-School next month! And congrats to Aram and Jimin for a job well done.

Jimin Kang and Aram Cho hold their new LPGA exempt tour cards

Jimin won two Futures Tour events this season

Pearl Sinn and her husband

Pearl Sinn gallery and other articles
The LPGA recently featured Seoul Mom Pearl Sinn-Bonanni in a special photo feature detailing her adventures as a new mom. Among the revelations in this feature is that Pearl and her hubby now run an ice cream store in California. Stop by and have a taste if you're in the area!

Here's the feature:
http://www.lpga.com/entertainment_content.aspx?pid=3123

Also, the Honolulu Advertiser recently published an article about the need for a ladies equivalent of the Presidents Cup, so that the international players can participate in the team fun that currently only the Americans and Europeans get to do. Here's that article:
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Sep/02/sp/sp20a.html

Money List
Se Ri struggled yet again, having to drop out of the King, a tournament she has won in the past, and then just barely making the cut at the State Farm and finishing near the bottom of the pile. Grace Park did better, although her near win at the Wachovia King Classic marked the first time in her career she had failed to win when going into the final round with a lead. Hee-Won Han had another great two weeks, although she cost herself a lot of money at the very end of the State Farm. And Christina Kim vaults into the top thirty thanks to her near win at that event.