Tournament(s) Wrap

This year, the Korean players are sending thirty representatives onto the LPGA tour in an effort to extend even further their magnificent dominance of the past few years. But the first two events of the year did not produce a lot of memorable highlights for the ladies. Hopefully, things will pick up as the season gains steam.

The start was particularly sad when you compare it to the way the Seoul Sisters started last season. In 2004, the Koreans managed seven players in the top ten in the first event of the year, two players who finished tied for second, and a player (Jung Yeon Lee) nearly shooting 59 in the very first round of the year. In the first two events, Shi Hyun Ahn, then a rookie, shot two straight top fives, and played in the final group in the year's second event. Aree Song and Seol-An Jeon also managed top tens, and Grace Park had a second and third place finish. Korean power was evident everywhere. But 2005's inaugural events showed precious little of that success.

The SBS Open
First up on the schedule this year was the SBS Open, a new event held on Oahu at the Turtle Bay Resort on the Northern part of the island. The event is sponsored by SBS, the Korean TV network that pays for exclusive rights to broadcast the LPGA in Korea. Indeed, that television deal was the most lucrative one in the LPGA's history. On top of agreeing to this deal, they also promised to sponsor the SBS Open for five years, starting in 2005. The American coverage of the event even started with an introduction from Grace Park, the top Korean player on tour in 2004, and included a brief greeting from her in Korean. SBS advertisements also peppered the coverage on the American Golf Channel, although what exactly they were advertising seemed a bit vague (their slogan, 'Humanism through Digital', probably should have been double-checked by someone who knew how to speak English; it sounded like something that the Babel Fish online translation program would come up with).

The event was held in Hawaii not only because of the LPGA tradition of playing in that state, and the nice weather this time of year, but also doubtless to attract Michelle Wie, the Korean-American teenage sensation, into playing there (she lives in Honolulu). It worked, and she provided most of the thrills for Korean golf fans during the event.

Shi Hyun Ahn's year started out a lot weaker
at the SBS Open than it had in 2004...

... But it did include this second round eagle!

Grace Park also struggled a bit in Hawaii

The biggest bummer about the SBS Open was that Se Ri Pak decided to skip it. She had originally intended to go, but dropped out to better prepare herself for the new season. Anyone who follows Se Ri knows it's not a good sign when she starts dropping out of events, and as her actual season premiere the following week made clear, there was reason to worry.

But even without Pak in the field, the Koreans were well represented. Alas, the stars did not come to play. True, the conditions were tough, with wind and occasional rain testing the games of the players. But still, the big name Koreans were not able to do much. Grace Park had a particularly bad time of it, frequently getting upset during her round, and ended up finishing in a very disappointing 27th place. About the only top player who did well was Hee-Won Han, who notched a 2 under par 70 to put her in the hunt.

By the second round, Michelle Wie and Hee-Won Han were the only two Koreans who still had legitimate chances to take the title. Grace Park, Mi Hyun Kim, Christina Kim, Shi Hyun Ahn and Aree Song had all faded out of contention.

Alas, in round 3, it was Hee-Won who struggled. The last professional Korean player who had a shot at the win, she could not get it together and shot one over par to finish tied for 5th. Still, it was a pretty good start for Hee-Won, who does not usually start the year all that well. Michelle Wie, meanwhile, collected a third straight 2 under par score and finished tied for second. She didn't really have a good chance to win, as by that point the eventual winner, Jennifer Rosales, had too much of a lead. But it was still her best ever finish in an LPGA event.

The MasterCard Classic
This was another new event, the first the LPGA had staged in Mexico in many years. Of course, having a Mexican event was inspired by the success of Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa. Finally, we'd get a chance to see how Se Ri Pak was doing, as she made her season debut there. She seemed reasonably confident in pre-event interviews.

But it was once again Hee-Won Han who came out the hottest. She shot a six under par 66 to take the first round lead by herself. In second place was another Korean, rookie Young Jo, who had led at Q-School for several rounds last year before finishing tied for second behind Paula Creamer. Gloria Park shot a 3 under and was tied for 4th, while another Korean rookie, Sae Hee Son, shot 2 under par.

But the other Korean stars again did not get much done. Grace Park only managed an even par round, as did Mi Hyun Kim. And Se Ri shot a woeful 3 over par 75 that deposited her in a tie for 61st and left her in danger of missing the cut. Christina Kim did miss the cut, thanks to a horrendous 7 over par first round.

Se Ri Pak had a bad tournament for her
opener in Mexico as well...

Hee-Won Han was the only Korean to
start 2005 with two strong events. Here
she finishes the first round in the lead

By the time round 2 was over, the Korean contingent was in big trouble. Although Se Ri shot a decent 71, which really consisted of only a single bad hole, a double bogey, and thus easily made the cut, she was still too far back to contend for the title. Hee-Won, meanwhile, followed her great first round with a terrible 4 over par 76, and dropped well back of the leaders. The biggest surprise was Sae-Hee Son, who played well enough to get herself into the final group on Sunday. The rookie had some definite mojo going.

But within just a few holes on Sunday, the pattern was set: Son collapsed, Hee-Won was not able to make a charge, and the tournament ended up being a battle between Annika Sorenstam, Cristie Kerr and a few other non-Korean players. Meanwhile, Se Ri struggled again, playing even worse than she had in round one by shooting a 5 over par 78. It's hard to even remember that, not so long ago, scores like that were exceedingly rare from Se Ri. Now it seems they happen all the time. She ended up finishing a crippling 54th place, and we are left to wonder how much longer she will be a cellar dweller before she starts to get her old talent back.

So with two tournaments done, only one Korean player, Hee-Won Han, has been consistently good, following her 4th in Hawaii with a third place finish in Mexico. But in neither event was she really in contention. Hopefully Grace, Se Ri, Mi Hyun, Shi Hyun, Jeong Jang and the other top Korean players will iron out the kinks by the time the first Major arrives, and we'll see some Korean power once again!