California Dreaming

The last month or so has been a very impressive one for Christina Kim. Some fans have given her the nickname Christina 'Course Record' Kim, because it seems she sets course records at the drop of a beret these days. She has notched several top finishes, and knocked so loudly on the door of a win (particularly last month at the State Farm Classic), that it seemed almost inevitable that a victory would soon come.

Among the more impressive achievements she has accomplished this season is this: she has managed to lead a tournament four times after the first round in 2004. For some context, consider that no other player, not even Annika Sorenstam, has managed that feat more than twice. Further, none of the 'Big Three' Korean players - Grace Park, Se Ri Pak and Mi Hyun Kim - has managed that feat even once this year (editor's note: as we go to press, Grace Park has just done it in the first round of the Asahi Ryokuken). As if that weren't impressive enough, she also managed to set the course record in those rounds at two different events (the State Farm Classic and the Longs Drugs Challenge), and also added a tournament record for best two round score at the State Farm to boot.

Christina at the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic

Christina high-kicks at the State Farm Classic

The fun started for Christina at the Wachovia Classic in mid-August. She put together a respectable four rounds of golf, and though she was not really in contention that week (it looked for all the world like Grace Park would run away with the event, but she stumbled at the end), she still notched a 6th place finish and made a decent check. The next week, however, she really kicked it into another gear. At the State Farm Classic, she shot a first round 62, tying the course record and taking a two shot lead in the process. She didn't slow down much in the second round, shooting a 66 to notch a new two day tournament record 16 under par. You'd be forgiven if you thought Christina had this one in the bag. But despite playing well for two more days, and shooting a four day total of 23 under par that would have been good enough to win this event any other year, she still lost when she missed a four foot birdie putt on the final hole that she needed in order to enter a playoff with Cristie Kerr. The tears flowed after that one, despite the fact the second place finish was her career best. She later admitted that she discovered she didn't like finishing second that day.

Christina might have just folded up the tent after that disappointment; instead, she came out the very next week, at the John Q. Hammons Classic, and again shot the best round on day one to take the lead. Unfortunately, there was not much else positive to report after that; she had two weak rounds to finish the event in 12th. The next week in Portland, she had a solid first two rounds to place herself in contention, but was not able to maintain the pace in the final round and finished 15th. But again, those two finishes are hardly terrible, and showed that she was capable of a decent finish even when she was not playing her best (like in Tulsa) or even in difficult conditions (like in Portland).

Which brings us to the Longs Drugs Challenge. This event has been a mainstay of the LPGA calendar for a number of years, but has struggled somewhat in the last couple seasons to attract a good field. The first problem came when the 12 Bridges Golf Club, which had hosted the event for many years, decided they no longer wanted to host. In 2003, the organizers were forced to scramble, and finally came up with a decent course for the event. Well, it was decent for the players, anyway. For the fans, it was a nightmare, with huge walks between holes that caused many spectators to lose track of their favorites, who were driven in carts between holes. A few of the top players skipped the event in 2003, and this year, even more decided to take a pass on the trip to Sacramento. As far as the Korean players were concerned, they were missing several big guns, including Grace Park, who was resting, Se Ri Pak, who was still working to rejuvenate her game, and Shi Hyun Ahn and Soo Yun Kang, who were playing in the PAVV Invitational (see the article about this event elsewhere in this issue!).

But there were still some top Korean players in the field, including the winner of the Safeway Classic the previous week, Hee-Won Han, and Mi Hyun Kim, who with 13 top tens in 2004 was the top player on tour yet to win this season. And, of course, Christina Kim was there. This was the closest she had gotten to her home city of San Jose since April, and she eagerly looked forward to playing in front of a gallery that would include a lot of friends and family members as well as the usual members of Christina's Army.

In 2004, the Longs had again switched venues, this time to a course called The Ridge in Auburn, CA, some thirty minutes outside of Sacramento. Since this course had not before been played on tour, that meant that there was no course record yet. And lack of a course record is like waving a flag in front of Christina 'Course Record' Kim. Sure enough, by the time Thursday's action was done, she was the one who owned that record, and for the amazing fourth time in 2004, she held the lead after one round. Would it be enough?

Christina did it with a combination of solid driving, great irons and clutch putting. In other words, her game was firing on all cylinders. On the back nine, which she played first, she managed three birdies, and through hole 7 had moved to five under. At the time, the lead was held by Rachel Teske, who finished at 6 under par. But that didn't last long. First, Christina put a wedge on the par 4 8th to 7 feet and drained the birdie, producing one great fist pump in the process. Then she put a 56 degree wedge on the par 5 9th to 8 feet, and drained that one as well. And just like that, she had a 64 (this was a par 71 course) and the lead.

Christina had the most impressive start, but she was not the only Korean who did well on Thursday. Hee-Won Han continued her scorching play of late with a 4 under par 67 to place her in 7th, and Jung Yeon Lee was only a shot behind that at 3 under (but then dropped out of the event after that). And a shot farther back, in 24th, was Mi Hyun Kim.

Yay! Kimmie was at the Longs Drugs!

Christina en route to another course
record, Thursday at the Longs

Christina during round 2

Things are going great for Hee-Won Han
these days
SeoulSisters.com Exclusive Photo
by Bob McIntosh

On Friday, things were not so smooth for Christina. She was still hitting decent irons and most of her fairways, but this time the putts were just not going down. And so, after her front nine, she found herself with nine straight pars. Meanwhile, other players were in fact moving up the leader board, and so Christina started to fall a bit behind. Chief among these was Juli Inkster. The Hall of Famer would end up shooting a 66 to go with the one she shot on Thursday, and took the solo lead at 10 under par. Another Hall of Famer, Karrie Webb, was also on form, and she ended her day at 8 under par. If Christina was going to stay with them, she needed to start making something other than pars.

Well, she did do that, but unfortunately, it was not a birdie but a bogey that broke the string. It occurred on the 14th hole, when she three putt from a huge distance. But this seemed to have woken her up, because after that, things got better. For one thing, she finally diagnosed what she believed was wrong with her putting: that she was standing too close to the ball. On the par 5 15th, she got a chance to test this out when she hit her approach to 4 feet. It worked, and she moved back to 7 under par with a birdie, her first of the day. On the next hole, however, she hit her approach over the green, and into a place where getting it up and down would be a real challenge. She hit a decent chip, but still had a challenging par save. Not to worry: her confidence was back, and she drained the par to her great delight. Then on 17 and again on 18, she stuffed the ball close and made two more birdies. Thus she finished her day at 9 under, and would get the chance to play with Inkster in the final round Saturday.

Meanwhile, Hee-Won Han was continuing her steady play. She shot another 4 under par 67 to move to 8 under and put herself into contention for the second week in a row. Hee-Won is quite possibly the streakiest of all the Korean players. When she gets on a roll, she seriously looks like she could win every time she tees it up. And it certainly looked that way again. Kimmie, meanwhile, moved up to 4 under par and 14th place. She was by no means out of the hunt.