Money list total: $680,080 (12th)
Scoring Average: 70.78 (9th)
Player of the Year Total: 48.33 (15th)
Wins: 0
Majors: 0 (1 top ten)
Top 2's: 1
Top 5's: 4
Top 10's: 9
Missed cuts: 1
Birdies: 387 (3rd)
Eagles: 9 (35th)
Greens in Regulation: .698 (19th)
Other notable stats: 15th driving accuracy (78.2) 17th in putting (29.43); 12th in putting/GIR (1.78); 116th in driving distance (244.6 yards); 21st in sand saves (.429)

Notable achievements:
Jang had the most top tens of her career, the highest money total, and her highest finish on the money list.

She improved her scoring average by more than a stroke from 71.98 in 2003 to 70.78 this year.

She once again nabbed a top ten at the US Women's Open, as she did last year. In every other Major, she finished 23rd!

She had a hole in one this season.

She improved significantly in putting (from 45th to 17th) and added two yards to her driving distance. She also made an impressive 387 birdies this year, third in the league.

She tied her career best finish, a solo second, at the Kellogg/Keebler Classic

Assessment:
Jeong Jang's game took a big leap forward in 2004. Were it not for Christina Kim, she would clearly be the most improved Korean or Korean American player on tour. The year started out OK. Though she made her first six cuts, she did not finish higher than 23rd (at the Nabisco). Then she missed her first cut of the year at the Michelob. Little suggested that this would be a great year for her.

But things immediately improved after that. She notched two straight 11th place finishes, then contended at the Kellogg-Keebler Classic, finishing second. She put together two more top tens shortly thereafter, including a 7th place at the US Women's Open. She was the only Korean to notch a top ten at this event.

JJ really caught fire late in the season, with a 5th at the Longs Drugs Challenge, a 6th at the Asahi Ryokuken, a 6th at the Samsung World Championship (the first time she had ever qualified for this event: she was the only player who qualified who had never won an LPGA event), and a 4th at the CJ 9 Bridges Classic. Four straight top tens, and one more at the Tour Championship, for a career best 9 top tens.

JJ did it by doing a little bit of everything better. Most importantly, she was very consistent, something that has generally not been the case before. For instance, she missed only a single cut all year, a great result for her. As usual, she played well in all four Majors, but added a whole bunch of other great results (besides the top tens, she had 6 additional top twenties). Her putting in particular was better, as was her driving. This was demonstrated not only in improved distance, but also in 10 eagles made during the year, a lot more than her norm.

All in all, a wonderful season for Jeong Jang, and since she is still quite young, an indication of what she might yet be capable of.

What she should work on:
Last year, my report card suggested she should work on her putting. She did, and the results were fantastic. At this point, she just needs to improve her general consistency even more, but she no longer has a glaring weakness in her game (other than shortness off the tee, but with her size, it will be difficult to improve that terribly much).

Summary:
A fantastic year for Jeong Jang that saw her rise much higher than most observers (including me) thought she would be able to. She looked quite capable of even finishing in the top ten on the money list (one more good result would have been enough). Career bests in a lot of categories raise the bar for her expectations in 2005. If she had contended a bit more often, she would have rated A+.

Notable achievements:
Christina won her first career tournament on the LPGA tour, and also notched her first second place finish.

Christina set her low score as an LPGA player with a 10 under par 62 at the State Farm Classic.

She led five different tournaments after the first round in 2004, the most of any player in the league. In one stretch in September, she had the first round lead in three of four events played.

She also set or tied several course records during the year.

Christina played for the first time on the Pinx Cup team for Korea, tying one match and winning the other. Her victory score of 66 was four shots lower than any other player on either team.

Christina had one hole in one during the year.

She was second in the league in birdies, beaten only by Lorena Ochoa, who set a new LPGA record in doing so.

Assessment:
Christina Kim had a breakout season in 2004. She certainly made her presence felt in 2003, and had a couple of good tournaments as well as a bunch of decent ones, but in 2004, she really rose up to become one of the top players on tour. She vaulted from 49th on the money list in 2003 to 15th in 2004, grabbed her first win, notched 5 top tens, and shot a whole bunch of low scores. She made so many birdies during the season that she made second most birdies of anyone in the league for the entire year.

Christina had some good results early in the season, notably top tens in the first two Majors of the year (and her 13th place in the British Open gave her three solid Majors). But she really started to fire on all cylinders around late August. After missing the cut at the Wachovia Classic, she played a phenomenal State Farm Classic. She tied the tournament record with a 62 in round one, and notched a 67 in round two to maintain her lead. Her fourth round battle with Cristie Kerr was one of the most memorable of the year, and though she lost on the final hole by missing a short par putt, her 23 under par was the best score all year that lost an event (and was her best total ever for an event). After two more strong events at the John Q. Hammons and Safeway Classic (both top twenties), she roared out of the gate at the Longs Drugs Challenge, only a few hours from her home of San Jose, California. Again taking the lead after the first round, she tenaciously battled and beat two Hall of Famers, Karrie Webb and Juli Inkster, to take her first title. Her final round was full of brilliant shots, including a stretch of phenomenal irons and clutch putting late.

She finished her year with a great performance at the Pinx Cup representing Korea. Her Sunday 66 was by far the best round anyone shot that day, and beat her Japanese opponent by seven shots.

Although she was still a bit inconsistent at times, Christina made huge strides in her game in 2004. Her biggest improvement was between her ears, as she found the mental strength to put herself into contention on numerous occasions. Thus, even though she did not have the consistency Jeong Jang had, overall she improved slightly more than JJ did and thus won the Seoul Sisters Most Improved Player award.

What she should work on:
Christina needs a little bit of work on her driving accuracy and overall consistency, but by and large, she seems well on the right path, and probably ahead of schedule (remember, she is still only 20 years old).