Fairways and Greens

KTF Fan Signing
On December 26th at the Lotte Castle Plaza in Seoul, KTF held a fan signing event. They were there to dedicate a new sports complex to Shin Sa Ok. They invited many of their sponsored athletes, primarily from the Pusan Magic Wings basketball team, but also participating were US Women's Open champ Birdie Kim and brand new sponsoree Meena Lee (Meena had been signed to a three year deal by KTF just days earlier). Mi Hyun Kim was not present, presumably because she had already left for Thailand to begin her Winter training for the 2006 season.

Joo Mi Kim signs new sponsorship deal
Joo Mi Kim, the former KLPGA Player of the Year who just finished her rookie season on the LPGA, ended her three year contract with Hi-Mart in December. They did not choose to renew. Fortunately for Joo Mi, she was not on the market long. On January 12th, it was announced that she has signed a three year sponsorship deal with Hite Beer for 100 million won/year (roughly $100,000/year).

Henceforth, she will have 'Hite' featured on her clothes and her cap. She joins LPGA rookie Na Ri Kim as a sponsoree of Hite. She also gets a free three year supply of all the beer she can drink. OK, I'm kidding about that last one!

Christina Kim visits the White House
On January 13th, the American Solheim Cup team was feted in Washington, DC, for their successful campaign against the Europeans last September. They ate lunch with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, then were treated to a visit to the White House, where they posed in the Oval Office with the Commader-In-Chief himself. Naturally, Christina Kim, as part of that team, was present, and as you can see from the photos, managed to stand pretty close to the President during the official photo!

Christina had been spending the previous month in an intense workout program, the first sustained one she had ever attempted. Her goal was to shed 10 kg during the month, and perhaps up to 20 kg, while simultaneously getting stronger. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it does look like she slimmed down a little. The rumor we are hearing is that she is actively seeking sponsorship deals. 2006 could be a big year for the feistiest Seoul Sister!

Hee Young Park Wins Taiwan Open
Last year's KLPGA Rookie of the Year Hee Young Park has started the year right - by winning an event right off the bat!

The event was the Taiwan Ladies Open on the Asian Women's Golf Tour. Hee Young, who was also voted last year by her peers as having the best swing among all Korean golfers worldwide, shot a three day total of 10 under par 206, including a Sunday round of 4 under 68, to claim the title. She collected 20 million won for her efforts (about $20,000).

Finishing in a tie for second were, not surprisingly, two more Korean golfers: Hae Jong Kim (you may recall her as the lady who won the event last year where they gave her the 2001 Space Odyssey trophy) and Jung Eun Lee, who tied at 8 under. Fourth place went to Na Yeon Choi at 6 under, last year's Rookie of the Year runner up on the KLPGA.

Taiwanese star Candie Kung finished tied for 6th at 3 under par.

More success for Hee Young Park in 2006

Jeanne Cho featured in swimsuit calendar
Did I get your attention? Thought so! Jeanne Cho, the French Korean lady who is currently working to gain her LPGA card through the Futures Tour, will be featured next month on the Golf Channel's reality program The Big Break (part V, if you are keeping track of that sort of thing). To get their fans pumped up for it, the Golf Channel created a 2006 calendar that features the ladies who will compete in that show. Somewhat surprisingly, it's a swimsuit calendar. Jeanne of course gets her own month (August, in case you were wondering). If you are interested in buying it, check out the Golf Channel's website:

Click here for calendar