Bo Bae Song

One of the most amazing things about the Korean explosion in women's golf has been the seemingly never ending procession of world class golfers coming through the ranks. It seems that every few months, another teenager you've never heard of is doing something amazing in some tournament or other. But even among the prodigies, Bo Bae Song stands out.

Song made her first splash on the world in a pretty big way. As a 17 year old amateur, she entered the 2003 Korean Women's Open, the biggest professional women's golf event in Korea. Included in the field were such LPGA heavyweights as Grace Park and Hee-Won Han, as well as Beth Bauer, Aree Song and Soo-Yun Kang. Yet after two rounds had been completed, Song was in a tie for the lead with Bauer. On Sunday, with just a few holes to go, Song was tied with Grace for the lead. Anything could have happened, but it was Park who faltered, and Song collected an enormous win that vaulted her into the public consciousness. She turned pro shortly after that. But could she, as a teenage pro, continue that kind of success?

Bo Bae Song with her 2003 Korean Open trophy

BB Song is awarded a prize for Player of the Year
at the KLPGA awards banquet last December

It would not be easy. In 2004, she faced another teenage prodigy on the KLPGA tour, Joo Mi Kim. Kim had dominated the tour the year before, and it looked like she would do so again. But Song had a sensational rookie season. She won several times that year, including repeating at the Korean Women's Open, and by the end of the year, Bo Bae was the Player of the Year, money leader, and Rookie of the Year on tour. And she was still only 18 years old!

Still, BB Song was relatively unknown outside of South Korea. But all that changed in early 2005. She would have two shots to make her name better known, and boy, did she take advantage of them. The first came when she played the Samsung Ladies Masters, a tournament held in Singapore and cosponsored by the KLPGA and the Ladies European Tour. The next chance would come a week later, when she would be one of the two representatives of Korea at the inaugural Women's World Cup of Golf in South Africa.

First came the Samsung event. Song was invited to participate by virtue of her sterling 2004 season on the KLPGA tour, but despite that, she was not treated as much of a contender before the event. Most of the attention went to Soo Yun Kang, the Korean with the highest world ranking in the field, and zillion time winner Laura Davies from England. But it wouldn't take Song long to make her presence felt. She shot a scintillating 65 on the first day to take a one shot lead. The round was flawless: five birdies and an eagle. And just like that, everyone found themselves chasing BB, as the participants quickly nicknamed her.

One might expect Song to struggle a bit after her fantastic start, but in fact, she kept going strong through round two. Once again she had a flawless round, a 6 under par 66 that found her sitting at 13 under par by the end of two rounds. This gave her a solid five shot lead over second place player Charlotta Sorenstam, sister of Annika. Suddenly, the 18 year old wunderkind seemed poised to win it all.

After her second round, she discovered that a win would give her a full three year exemption on the LET. This would allow her entree into most any event played on that tour, including such important events as the Evian Masters. But she also knew that the third round was going to be the hardest of all.

Indeed, she did struggle quite a bit in round three. Who knows if it was nerves owing to what was at stake, or just inexperience. But suddenly, she started to make bogies, where all week she had not. By the turn, her lead had been trimmed slightly, but then she really started to fall apart, making several more bogies and a birdie. As she approached the final hole, she found herself tied for the lead with Sorenstam.

But then BB showed the type of guts that bodes well for her future. She hit a perfect drive, then nailed a gorgeous iron to six feet. Then after Sorenstam missed her birdie, BB made hers, winning the event and gaining the three year exemption. She is only the second Korean in history to win an LET event. The first was Se Ri Pak, who had won the 2001 British Women's Open at Sunningdale.

Hooray! Bo Bae makes a clutch birdie on the
final hole to take the Samsung Ladies Masters