Volume 2, Number 21, November 3, 2004
 

CJ 9 Bridges Classic

 Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Gallery1, Gallery2, Gallery3, Gallery4, Results
Sunday: the Final Battle

Sunday got off to a blistering start for one 'young' player: specifically, Young Kim. Kim had started the CJ 9 Bridges with a 3 under par 69 to put herself in contention, but on Saturday, she had fallen back to 22nd place with a one over par 73. On Sunday, she made that up in a hurry. She attacked the front nine ferociously, making birdies on 3, 5, 6, and 8 to move herself to 4 under for the day. She continued her assault on the back nine with two more birdies on the par 5s and yet another one on 14. That made for a 7 under par 65, tied for the best score of the day, and Kim finished the tournament at 9 under. She had set the early pace that the rest of the field would need to match. It would not win it for her, but it would be good enough for her second top ten of the year on tour.

Young Kim shot a 7 under par 65 on Sunday

Se Ri fans tried to will her on to victory on Sunday...

...but she ran into trouble on the 9th hole

 

On Sunday, the biggest gallery would follow the Golf Queen, Se Ri Pak. Even Grace did not have as big a gallery following her (of course, it helped that Se Ri was playing with another popular player, Shi Hyun Ahn, but there can be no doubt that the gallery was pulling for Se Ri to succeed). And she did not disappoint them, at least at first. She made an early birdie on the par 5 3rd, then followed that with another on 5. That one was a 30 foot downhill putt that she negotiated perfectly. It seemed like her putting was coming around. The crowd cheered lustily for her after that one, with shouts of 'Se Ri Fighting!' piercing the air. At that point, she was only one shot out of the lead.

On the next hole, she put her approach shot into the right bunker. Alas, it was in a terrible location, and Se Ri had to spend several minutes trying to figure out a way to get a stance so she could hit the ball. Finally, she found one and hit it out, but her shot went clean over the green and off the other side. Her chip from that location was only average, and she wound up two putting for double bogey. She had gone 38 holes since her last mistake on Friday. Though the double bogey was a big setback, she was not about to give up yet.

Sure enough, she birdied the next hole to rally. And when she got to the 9th hole, she still had a shot at catching Grace. But after hitting mostly good drives all week, she hit a disastrous one on this par 5. Her ball went right, into a thick clump of trees. Much like Grace at the Samsung two weeks ago, Se Ri had to enlist the help of her fans in finding the ball. Fortunately, they did find it, but the lie was terrible. Se Ri did manage to get it out, but it took her four shots to reach the green, and she made another bogey. Despite three birdies on the front, she was only even par so far in the round.

Meanwhile, Grace Park had awoken that morning as a woman on a mission. She was well overdue for a win, she felt. Before the 2004 season, she had never lost an event when leading going into the final round. But in 2004, she had already done it twice: at the Wachovia Classic in August, where she made numerous mistakes on the back nine on Sunday to hand the tournament to Lorena Ochoa, and at the Samsung, which we already talked about. Grace was not about to let it happen a third time.

In fact, the number three seemed to reoccur all over the place for Grace this week. This was the third edition of the CJ 9 Bridges Classic. Her great first round marked the third consecutive time she had led a tournament after the first round. She shot a 66 on day 1 (6 = 2 times 3), and a 69 on Saturday (also multiples of three). She would need to win to avoid the third time in the season that she lost an event with a lead going into the final round. She had made a hole in one on a par 3 during practice. Even the name of the event, CJ *9* Bridges, had a 3 reference. One hoped all these 3's did not mean she was destined to finish third!!

But she bogied her very first hole, and just like that, had to fight to get back into the lead. Fortunately, she calmed down after that, birdied the par 5 3rd to neutralize the bogey, and notched another birdie on 6 to move into the lead at 10 under par. But it was during a three hole stretch starting on hole 9 that she really kicked it into gear. She made birdie on all three holes, and moved to a three shot lead on the field. This was a situation eerily similar to the one at the Samsung, for lurking just a few back was Annika Sorenstam. Grace needed to maintain her concentration and not falter; force Annika to make up the ground rather than give her a break.

Grace on Sunday

... and during her practice round

Grace and Soo Yun had a few laughs Sunday

 

Meanwhile, Soo Yun Kang had an even par front nine, then made a birdie on the par 5 12th. She was thus at 8 under, 5 shots out of the lead. But she hit a frankly terrible tee shot on the par 3 13th, then duffed a chip from near a grate. To add insult to injury, she lipped out her bogey putt and wound up with a double bogey. That was enough to end her threat for the title, but she would go on to finish at 8 under par, good for a tie for 9th. Certainly a good week for her, if a bit disappointing.

On the same hole, Grace hit the green, but misread her putt and had to settle for par. On 14, she missed the fairway, hitting perhaps too much club for this short hole. Her ball was deeply buried, but she managed to get it onto the green after hitting a low runner. It still left her some 15 - 20 feet past the hole, and her first putt was only average. So now came Grace's first test: a three foot par save. Remember, she did not want to start giving shots back to the field now that she had a lead. Summoning her courage, she tapped the ball. It rattled around the cup a little, but finally fell in, much to Grace's intense relief. Her three shot lead held.

But Shi Hyun Ahn was still in the hunt. She was at 9 under par when she reached 14, where she missed the green. But she padded her putting stats by sinking a putt from the fringe to move to 10 under. The crowd oohed and ahhed appreciatively. Then on 15, she hit a wonderful approach that landed on the left side of the green and rolled to within 6 feet of the cup. She made that one, too, and now stood only 2 shots behind Grace. Shi Hyun was still hungry to defend her only LPGA title, and now was positioned to do so.

On 15, Grace hit a nice drive, then nailed a nine iron to about ten feet. She had a good chance for a birdie to take some of the heat off of her. Keep in mind that this was the point that she collapsed at the Samsung. But instead of collapsing, she dunked the birdie putt to move back to a 3 shot lead. Though she did not know it, simultaneously Annika Sorenstam hit a fairly bad iron on the par 3 17th (she released her club in disgust). She would go on to make bogey to fall five behind Grace. Things were looking good for GP to get her second win of 04.

Shi Hyun on Sunday

Se Ri had a pretty good day tee-to-green on Sunday

Meanwhile, Se Ri had exchanged a birdie and a bogey and still stood at 6 under par. Her problem was once again her putting. She hit a frankly terrible birdie putt from short distance on 15, and followed that up by leaving her putt short on 16. A win was no longer a possibility, but if she could rally, she could still get a top ten. But she parred 17 as well, and remained at 6 under. Shi Hyun, playing in Se Ri's group, had her own problems on 16, but managed to make a lengthy par save to remain at 11 under par. She then hit a great tee shot right over the flag on 17 to within 6 feet. She still had a chance to threaten Grace.

But Grace was hanging in there. Her drive on 16 was good, and her approach was on the left side of the green. She had a birdie chance, but it was a bit too long and she missed it. Still, she made par, and at this point, that was all she need to do. Ahn, meanwhile, missed her short putt on 17, opening the door still wider for Grace.

On 18, Annika Sorenstam hit a great drive, then a five iron (!) to the green, about 8 feet from the flag. She then dunked the eagle to move into a tie for 2nd at 11 under par with Ahn. Still, that was three shots behind Grace, and now she was done. Unless Grace messed up seriously, the title was hers. Jang had an even shorter eagle putt on the hole, but missed hers and had to settle for birdie. Still, she ended up at 10 under par, yet another top ten for the up and coming player. This finish moved her to 10th on the money list, and gave her a chance to finish in the top ten for the year for the first time ever.
Now it was Se Ri's turn. After a good drive on 18, she hit a spectacular second shot with an iron to about five feet. It was the closest anyone got on this hole all day. She would have a short eagle putt, and if she made it, the top ten was pretty much hers. If she made birdie, she would have to wait to see how Kate Golden and Soo Yun Kang did. Alas, she missed the eagle by a hair! It looked for sure like she had made it. So she tapped in for birdie and sat in 11th place, which is where she would end up. Her second 11th place in a row, but what was encouraging was that, except for one or two holes, she had made relatively few mistakes all week, and had actually contended for the title. This event was very similar to the 'off' events Se Ri used to play when she was at the top of her game. In those days, she generally played two types of events: the type where her game was on and she had a great chance to win, and the type where she was a little off, and finished from 5th - 15th place. In the second type of event, it was usually her putting that was her weak point. Well, that was exactly what happened here. Se Ri was done with the LPGA for the year, but planned to play a new KLPGA event called the ADT CAPS the following week. Let's hope she is primed to get a title to continue her comeback!

This photo sums it all up: Se Ri looks at the fairway
wistfully after her drive on 18 on Sunday

Oh! Shi Hyun misses a crucial putt

 Now it was Ahn's turn, but her second shot on 18 went into the left bunker. She did not hit a very good sand shot, and the ball rolled about 20 feet past the hole. Then her 4th shot rolled about three feet past the hole. She had a three foot par save that was very valuable: if she missed it, she would cost herself some $45,000 as she would fall from a tie for 2nd to a tie for 4th. Also, she would lose any chance of catching Grace, should Grace falter. But Ahn missed the short putt to the groans of the crowd, and had to settle for 4th. Still, a great defense of her title, and another great performance in her young career.

Grace reached the par 3 17th, which she had made a hole in one on during the pro am. Showing she knew she had this one in the bag, she striped it to a few feet, then made another birdie to move to 15 under. Now all she needed to do was play the par 5 conservatively and she had it made. Soo Yun Kang helped lighten the mood by telling a joke on the tee that cracked up the gallery. But her drive did not end up in a great spot, and Grace's drive landed in even deeper rough, and she had to lay up. No problem, though. Then just to put the exclamation point on her win, Grace stuck her pitch to four feet and drained yet another birdie. Not only had she won, she had destroyed the field. Her 16 under par victory set the tournament record by four shots. More significantly, she had accomplished two things she had never done before. Firstly, she won for the second time in a calendar year. In her first four seasons, she had won one event each year. This was her first ever multiple win season. Secondly, she won big. In all her previous events, believe it or not, she had never won by more than one shot. Here she won by five shots. The confidence she gained from pulling this off will doubtless aid her in the future.

A few minutes later, she reappeared to accept her trophy. The folks at the tournament decided to make a change this year that I think really makes the tournament special. Instead of just giving the winner a trophy, they give her a specially made pottery cup adorned with traditional Korean designs. The thing is gorgeous, and quite unique. As well, instead of having the winner put on a green jacket, they have her wear a specially made traditional Korean dress called a hanbok. Grace looked great in it. I'm just glad she decided not to jump in the water like she did at the Nabisco (hey, what is it with Grace winning tournaments that have 18th greens that are islands?). Of course, the temperature on Cheju Island this time of year was a good deal cooler than that of southern California, where the Nabisco is held.

Anyway, the victory won, Grace now moves to second on the money list, with the highest total she has ever achieved in her career, more than 1.4 million dollars. Grace's scoring average, also, has dipped back below 70 (in fact, it's now at 69.88). This is important because, once again, Annika looks in danger of not playing 70 rounds of golf this season. If that happens, she will not qualify for the Vare Trophy. Then the second place player will get it. Currently, Grace is third, but she has closed the gap between her and Lorena Ochoa immensely in the past few weeks. Last month, Ochoa had about a .2 stroke lead, but now, her lead is only .04, despite the fact she has played well. If Grace continues to outplay her, she can potentially add a Vare Trophy to her collection this year.

Grace did it! Her second win of 2004 in
commanding style

Grace got to wear this lovely hanbok and
received a beautiful Korean-style trophy
Grace was incredibly happy after the event for all these reasons, but perhaps the most special reason is this: it was her first ever win on Korean soil. For the player who left her home country at an early age to become a superstar, this must have been the sweetest vindication of all.
Gallery #1