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2004 Awards
Which players were the best of 2004? The most improved? The best youngster? Who branched out into other media and dominated the sponsorship sweepstakes? Seoul Sisters Magazine takes you on an irreverent tour of the highlights (and a few lowlights) of the 2004 season. Enjoy!
Best Start to the Season:
Without a doubt, the best start to the 2004 season came from Jung Yeon
Lee, who in her very first round of the year very nearly became the
first Korean player (and only second in history) to break 60. The round
came at the 2004 Welch's Fry's Championship. This par 70 course already,
in 2003, had a reputation for yielding low scores. In that year, it was
the only tournament where Se Ri Pak missed the cut, despite shooting 2
under par. That was because players were producing incredibly low scores
all over the course, including a 61 by Grace Park. In 2004, the trend
continued, and Jung Yeon Lee, a player who had been gradually improving
at the end of the 2003 season, made her move on Thursday. She managed
two eagles early thanks to her length on the par 5s. On the 15th hole,
she put a wedge to within 12 feet and dunked a birdie, then put her wedge
on 16 to within 10 feet for another birdie. She now stood at 10 under
par, and just needed one more birdie on the last two holes to shoot 59.
But on 17, she was not very close, and had to live with par. It all came
down to the final hole, and her approach put her on the green, within
15 feet. Alas, her birdie putt just brushed by the hole, leaving her a
short putt for 60, which she made. Later, she would admit that she hadn't
realized that the putt was for 59, due to the par 70 on the course. Her
caddie knew, but he sure wasn't going to tell her!
Honorable mention:
Shi Hyun Ahn, who started her year with two straight top five finishes,
and Grace Park, who followed a second and third place finish in her first
two events with a win at the Nabisco for her first Major trophy.
Can't have a much hotter start to your
year than Jung Yeon Lee: one barely missed
putt away from a 59!
Jung Yeon's season started well, but...
Best start and then what?
Jung Yeon Lee also claims this award. Lee had been on a great roll
since about September of 2003. She finished her year on the LPGA tour
with three straight top tens, then followed it up with a second place
finish at a KLPGA event. In 2004, she came out even stronger. She ended
up finishing the Tucson event in a tie for second place, then a 16th in
Phoenix, followed with an appearance in the final group on Sunday at the
Nabisco (she ended up 8th). She then had a 15th at the Takefuji, and almost
won the Chick-Fil-A, finishing second. It looked for all the world like
a win was forthcoming, but after a 25th place finish at the Michelob Ultra,
she didn't do much of anything for the rest of the year. In fact, there
was a stretch in the summer where she only played Majors, leading one
to suspect that she might be dealing with an injury. If so, let's hope
she has everything sorted out and will be back on track in time for the
2005 season.
This is a close one, but I'm going to give the award to the Korean mega-performance at the Welch's Fry's Championship. Although the winner, Karen Stupples, won by five strokes, tied for second behind her were Grace Park and Jung Yeon Lee (there's that name again!). Shi Hyun Ahn, in her first event as a Rookie, proved that her win on tour in 2003 was not a fluke with a solid 5th place finish. She ended up tied with none other than Aree Song, who ended up being her top Rookie of the Year competitor all year. Tied for 8th were three more Korean players: Se Ri Pak, a resurgent Mi Hyun Kim (her first of 15 top tens in 2004) and rookie surprise Seol-An Jeon. That's a total of 7 Korean players in the top ten.
Honorable Mentions: It was a close competition for this award, because just a few weeks later, at the Nabisco Championship, the Korean players managed an arguably even more impressive feat. The final group on Sunday consisted of three Korean players: Grace Park, Jung Yeon Lee, and rookie Aree Song. Without a doubt, this was a first in LPGA history. In the end, Grace beat Aree after a thrilling conclusion on the 18th green (see below), with Lee finishing tied for 8th. Amateur Michelle Wie snuck in there for a tie for 4th, her best ever LPGA finish, Kimmie notched yet another top ten with a 7th, and Christina Kim got her first top ten at a Major with a tie for 8th. That's six Korean players in the top ten, but I'll give the nod to the Tucson event in this category, because Christina and Michelle are Korean-American, and Michelle is an amateur. The Tucson event was the best overall performance by the Korean LPGA players.
The LPGA's 2004 Q-School might also qualify: eight Koreans and one Korean American collected exempt cards this year. That's nearly one third of the cards available going to Korean players!
Grace was one of seven Korean players
to get a top ten at the year's opening event
Aree Song vs. Grace Park, Nabisco Championship.
See below for the story of the final hole!
Media Sensation:
Shi Hyun Ahn
Ever since Shi Hyun Ahn won the CJ 9 Bridges Classic in late 2003,
she has been a media sensation in her homeland. Nicknamed 'Cinderella'
because of her meteoric rise to prominence, one would be forgiven for
not realizing that she only finished 4th on the KLPGA tour that year.
Ahn's one win on the LPGA tour had made her better known than any of the
players who had beaten her on the domestic tour.
If anything, the media drumbeat for Ahn has increased in 2004. It would
have all been for naught had she not lived up to the hype, but she has
done that and more (see below for more details on her year!).
All this translated to an intense interest in 'Cinderella' in Korea. She
was frequently the focus of photo spreads when she would return to her
country, and her fan club grew by leaps and bounds every month. Most tellingly,
at the end of the year, it seemed like Shi Hyun appeared everywhere. She
showed up during the Korea Series (Korea's baseball championship) and
threw out the first ball along with Soo Yun Kang. She also appeared at
a music award show and gave an award. She participated in a media stunt
to help publicize drunk driving awareness, and appeared at a school, where
she helped some kids color pictures in an art class. She also appeared
on numerous television shows, including the popular comedy/game show 'Happy
Together', where she caused a little bit of controversy with her comments
(see elsewhere in this issue for details!). That's all on top of receiving
a 'most popular' award at the KLPGA award show in December. The award
was certainly fitting!
Shi Hyun has been a media darling in Korea
the last year
