Kimmie's Back!

Mi Hyun Kim has definitely had her ups and downs as a player.

After a so-so start in her rookie season, she turned it on in the middle of that year, eventually winning twice and capturing Rookie of the Year honors for 1999. She continued strong in 2000 with another win and 13 top tens. But 2001 was a bit more of a struggle. Despite 13 more top tens, she was unable to get a win. She refocused and found her game again in 2002, winning twice more and finishing a career best 4th on the money list. In fact, she had a really good chance to win four times in 2002, but coughed up a five shot lead at the Rochester tournament in the final round, losing when she had led the whole day by missing a shortish par save on the final hole. She also won the State Farm Bonus Series that year.

Mi Hyun was expecting 2003 to be her best year ever, but something went wrong. According to her, the problem was that she did not work as hard as she should have. Living alone in Florida, she found herself avoiding going to practice in the off-season more than she should have. The result was by far her worst season as an LPGA pro in 2003. Not only did she have her second winless season, but she also managed only 5 top tens all year. As a result, she finished outside the top ten on the money list for the first time.

Mi Hyun is a small lady, but she has a big heart. She was not about to fold up her tent and give up. She knew she still had it in her to compete, and was hungry to get back on top. So during the 2003-04 off-season, she decided that she needed to get away from home and all its distractions. Thus, she flew to Thailand and enrolled in an intensive sports camp, where she would be forced to work hard all day, every day. (Note that some articles specify this camp was in Taiwan, but since they said 'Thailand' on TV, I'm assuming this is the correct location of the camp). It was 'hell training': hit the range for several hours, play a round of golf; work out several hours, play another round of golf; once more to the range. Every day, no slacking.

Peanut with her trophy from the
2002 Giant Eagle Classic

Peanut and her new car, earlier this year

An exhausted Grace gave it her best shot
(AP Photo)

If Shi Hyun Ahn and Mi Hyun Kim, two golfers who underwent these 'hell training' sessions, are any indication, this sort of training will be the in vogue thing next season. Because both players have come out of the gate with their games sharp and ready for the new year. Mi Hyun has managed, so far, an 8th at the Welch's/Fry's Championship and a 7th at the Nabisco. Her performance at the Office Depot would prove to be her best yet, and with three top tens in just four starts, she leapt to 6th on the money list. Mi Hyun seems ready to contend and win again in 2004.

The week started with the tour still buzzing about superstar Grace Park and her impressive win at the Nabisco Championship the week before. Grace admitted in her pre-tournament press conference, "I think it's finally started to sink in because I'm really tired... I'm tired physically, but mentally I'm ready to get back to work. I'm just having a hard time waking up in the morning." Unfortunately, the El Caballero course on which the Office Depot is played is one of the toughest the ladies face all year, and is not ideal for a player who is tired. Grace struggled to a one over par in her opening round, missing a short par on the last hole which left her clearly annoyed with herself. She was still legitimately in it after that, but her struggles were not yet over.

Her chief competitor at the Nabisco, Aree Song, was also clearly burned out, and had her worst finish of the year to date, a 61st place. But fortunately, there were other Sisters to try to take up the flack.

One player who tried was Young Kim. The second year LPGA pro had had a solid rookie year, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year race, and after a somewhat shaky start to 2004, seemed to be coming around. She notched a 16th place at the Nabisco, and a one under 71 left her in good shape after round one. She played well enough to get prominent coverage on television as well. She was a bit inconsistent, but on this course, it's hard not to be. The rough is tough, the course is narrow, and worst of all, the greens are very fast and tricky. Even making a lot of greens does not guarantee you birdies or even pars.

Se Ri Pak had a more frustrating time of it on Friday. She was fairly down on her game in that she could not seem to make a putt, and the few times she made a mistake, she seemed to pay for it. She finished the day 6 shots out of the lead with a 2 over par 74. A fan on the scene, SayYou_Seri, reports that she was hanging her head by the end of it, a most un-SeRi like response to her day.

But Mi Hyun Kim plugged away, putting together an even par round that left her four shots out of the lead. She was in position, but for the moment had a lot of work to do.

Young Kim tries to nudge her drive in round 1
(Reuters)