Kimmie's Back! (cont.)

On Saturday, the conditions were tougher, and the scoring reflected that. Grace Park shot her worst round of the year to date, a 76, effectively knocking herself out of the tournament and making even a top ten look unlikely. Se Ri, meanwhile, thrived in the tough conditions. Her ball striking was definitely improving. She missed only a couple of greens all day, and her driving was generally straight and long. But she was still struggling on the greens. She managed a very respectable 2 under par score on the front nine, but on the back, she had bogeys on the 11th and 14th holes and a birdie on 13.

Then she reached her last few holes, and turned it up a notch. She nailed a gorgeous tee shot on the par 3 16th to three feet and made the birdie. She followed that up with two good shots on 17 to reach the bunker on this par 5, pitched out nicely and drained the 8 foot birdie putt. Another perfect drive on 18, and she looked primed to make a move on the leader. She was already 3 under par for the day, and a birdie here would put her within four shots of leader Annika Sorenstam, who had finished the day already with a 70. But her iron rolled through to the fringe, her first putt missed the hole and rolled four feet past, and she agonizingly missed the par putt. Instead of being four shots back, she was six shots back; she had gained no ground on the leader all day.

Mi Hyun Kim, meanwhile, plugged away. She made one mistake on the par 5 12th for bogey, but otherwise was rock steady, carding birdies on 5 and 11 to finish one under par for the day. Kimmie was still five shots out of the lead, but she was one of the few players under par. She had a chance at least, and she would make the best of it on Sunday.

Se Ri improved in round 2
(Reuters)

The greens gave Se Ri
fits all week
(AP Photo)

On Sunday, Grace Park proved once again that she is a true champion. Despite being tired and out of the event, she gave it her all to continue her top ten streak. Her three under par 69 was one of the best scores of the week, but it was not good enough to climb all the way back. She finished 16th. Still, a valiant effort.

Se Ri continued to play very strong golf tee to green. Other than a miscue on the par 5 1st hole, when she drove into a fairway bunker, her driving was straight and true all day. Her irons were also solid, but despite her best efforts, the putts fooled her most of the day. Se Ri had finished 1st and 2nd at this event in the previous two years, and was doubtless expecting at least a top ten for her troubles. But she needed to make a few birdies to get it.

She did birdie the third hole after a 15 footer, but her Waterloo came on the par 3 6th. The pin position was tucked and treacherous, but she went for it and ended up in the bunker. She got it out but the ball stopped in the fringe. Her par chip went too far, and she was not able to save bogey. Just like that, she had a double bogey, and she never recovered from it. She would make one more birdie and one more bogey and finish the day one over par, and the tournament in 13th place.

Which left Kimmie. Could she make a move on Annika? Well, Annika was not playing all that well at first. She was hanging in around 6 under par, where she started the day. Mi Hyun took advantage, making two birdies right off the bat to move to 3 under par. She stayed 3 shots back of Sorenstam for the next hour or two, neither able to gain any ground.

While this was happening, one player made a startling move. It was virtually unknown LPGA journeyman Ashli Bunch, who was in the process of shattering the course record. Bunch had started the day at one over, same as Se Ri, but three straight birdies on holes 10 - 12 moved her to 4 under par, only two shots out of the lead. She then hit a perfect, perfect approach on the par 5 17th and drained a three footer for eagle. Suddenly Annika was not alone at the top.

Peanut finally got to 4 under herself on the par 5 12th, but the next hole she bogeyed, and after a clutch par save on 14, made another bogey on 15 to fall back to 2 under. 4 shots down with only three holes to go, it looked like curtains for Kimmie. And her tee shot on 16 did not help; on this par three she missed the green to the left.

But if there is one thing Kimmie does very well, it's work short game magic, and she did it again by chipping the ball into the hole for a birdie two. There was some fight in her yet! The par 5 17th was next, and she hit a great drive followed by an even better approach. Not quite as close as Bunch, she still had maybe 10 feet for eagle. The eagle would climb her to within one shot of Bunch's clubhouse lead, meaning she still had an outside chance to get to 6 under!

Peanut finished strong
(AP Photo)

A top five for Mi Hyun!

Not to be. Her eagle putt was just the least bit off-speed, and she tapped in her birdie to move back to 4 under. That's where she finished after a par on 18. It didn't matter anyway, as Annika finally found her putting stroke in the last few holes and made three late birdies to move to 9 under and win the tournament.

Still, it was a fourth place finish, her third top ten in four starts. It moved Mi Hyun up to 6th on the money list, behind only Aree Song and Grace Park among the Koreans. Kimmie's Hell Training during the off-season has already paid dividends, and you can expect that this is only the beginning for the Little Sister, who is definitely on the comeback trail.