2005 Year in Review

Come with us as we relive the year 2005, the highs and the lows!

Before the Year Started
Before we can recap the year, it's important to recollect what the situation was like for the Korean golfers at the end of the 2004 season. Although the old order had changed somewhat, the Big Four were still the Big Four. Se Ri Pak had been slumping pretty severely, and for only the second time in her career finished outside of the top 3 on the money list (she was 11th). But she had had a few halfway decent events to end the year, including a second place finish at the ADT-CAPS tournament on the KLPGA, and had just beaten Ai Miyazato at the Pinx Cup. She would appear on the cover of Golf World Magazine to tell the world that she was intent on making 2005 a return to form. Little did we know...

Meanwhile, Grace Park was second on the money list, had won a Major in 2004 and another event, and collected the Vare Trophy for good measure. Hee-Won Han and Mi Hyun Kim were both also top ten on the money list. Jeong Jang had just finished her best ever season at 12th on the money list, just behind Se Ri. Shi Hyun Ahn was the Rookie of the Year, and Christina Kim and she both finished in the top 20. Meena Lee, Joo Mi Kim, Young Jo, Aram Cho, Sae-Hee Son and Sung Ah Yim were among the untested Korean rookies soon to join the tour. Soo-Yun Kang and Young Kim were big question marks. Jimin Kang had led the Futures Tour money list in 2004, and now was exempt on the LPGA tour. Birdie Kim had just changed her name from Ju Yun to Birdie, and was now exempt thanks to a good finish at Q-School.

Grace Park was the Korean Golfer of the Year in 2004

Bo Bae Song in 2004

Over in Korea, meanwhile, Bo Bae Song was coming off her Rookie season, where she had dominated the KLPGA. A young amateur named Na Yeon Choi had won the ADT-CAPS tournament, turned pro, and intended to be a KLPGA rookie in 2005. In-Kyung Kim and Song Hee Kim were two amateurs few in America had heard of. A young rookie named Jee Young Lee had little idea that 2005 would change her life as she embarked on her pro career.

And a certain Michelle Wie was still an amateur.

Boy, how much can change in a year, huh? By the time the year was over, the Korean order of merit had completely changed, in a much more radical way than ever before in a single season. The Big Four, who had by and large been the top four Korean golfers since 2002, had a huge shakeup, and many newcomers joined the ranks of LPGA champions. Get ready for a wild ride as we journey back through the last twelve months in the next few pages!

January - February

Bo Bae Song won in Singapore, then...

... She and Jeong Jang finished second
in South Africa

Shi Hyun Ahn models

Player of the Month: Bo Bae Song
Event of the Month: Samsung Ladies Masters

The season started with a whimper for most of the Seoul Sisters, but at least one young star had a fantastic start to her year. That player was 2004 KLPGA Player of the Year Bo Bae Song. Playing in the Samsung Ladies Masters in early February, an event jointly sponsored by the KLPGA and the Ladies European Tour, Bo Bae upstaged her more famous competitors, including Soo-Yun Kang and Laura Davies, by taking the lead after two rounds. She struggled mightily in the third round, and it looked like Sorenstam (Charlotta, not Annika) might snatch the trophy away from her. But she made the clutch putt she needed to on the 18th green while Sorenstam just missed. BB thus became the second Korean to win a European Tour event (after Se Ri Pak, who won the 2001 Women's British Open), and the first to gain a three year exempt card on that tour. She would use it later in the year to play at the Evian and British Open.

The next highlight was the first playing of the Women's World Cup of golf in South Africa less than a week later. BB Song once again represented Korea, teaming with Jeong Jang in the two player format. In the end, Korea managed a second place finish, beaten by Japan at the very end when the Japanese both scored birdies on the 17th hole in the final round to move two shots ahead. Korea and the Philippines finished tied for second.

Meanwhile, Michelle Wie once again played in the PGA's Sony Open on a sponsor's exemption, and once again missed the cut, although this time she looked to be in like flynn with just two holes to go, only to make bogies on those final holes to just miss the cut. She did better when the LPGA season started in Hawaii in late February. At the SBS Open, played in her home state, she just missed out on her first LPGA victory when she finished second to Jennifer Rosales. Hee-Won Han was the top professional Korean finisher at 5th place.

Meanwhile, Se Ri Pak appeared on the cover of Golf World, in an article wondering what had happened to her during the latter half of 2004. She expressed a lot of optimism for the season, but as we all know, she had a lot more bad times ahead in 2005. Shi Hyun Ahn did a series of interesting fashion pics that appeared in Korean newspapers around that time as well.

Soo-Yun Kang celebrates her eagle at the
Safeway International in March

Hee-Won in Mexico

March

Player of the Month: Hee-Won Han
Event of the Month: Safeway International

March was the month of Annika Sorenstam. She won every event played on the LPGA in that month, some by large margins. She collected the Nabisco, the year's first Major, without much trouble, blowing away the field. Meanwhile, the Korean players were by and large not doing that well. There were a few top fives here and there, but even then, they really didn't put themselves in a position to challenge to win.

The closest a Korean came to winning was at the Safeway International March 17 - 20. Soo-Yun Kang played solid golf on Thursday, but on Friday she had a 6 under par 66, the lowest score of the day, and moved to within a couple of the leader, Lorena Ochoa. On Saturday, she had moved to within one shot of Ochoa by the end of the round, and thus was in the final group with Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam, who was three shots back. It certainly looked like a good opportunity to end Sorenstam's stranglehold on wins in March, but Kang played horribly on Sunday. Her only highlight was when she dunked her second shot from the fairway on 18 for an eagle. Ochoa also ended up choking away the almost certain win with several mistakes on the last few holes, got into a playoff with Annika, and messed that up as well, handing the tournament to the Swede. So for Soo-Yun, it was a disappointment, but still a third place, one of her career best finishes to date.

Hee-Won Han was probably the player of the month for the Koreans. Her best finish came right at the start, where she followed a fifth place in the year's opening event with a third place at the year's first Mexican tournament, the MasterCard Classic. But though she played well there, it was still pretty much Annika's event all the way. Hee-Won also racked up a 20th place finish at the Safeway International and a 17th at the Nabisco, and by the end of the month was the top Korean on the money list, in 7th place overall.

Other highlights included Jin Young Pak winning the first event on the Futures Tour, the Lakeland Futures Golf Classic in Lakeland, Florida. It was also her first ever professional event. She would go on to have a decent season on tour, although not good enough to gain a precious LPGA exempt card by finishing in the top five on the money list. And ESPN The Magazine had a nice feature story on Grace Park

Meanwhile, Se Ri Pak started her season terribly, with a weak performance in Mexico (tied for 54th), and a withdrawal from the Safeway International, an event she had won in the past. She had her best finish in 2005 at the Nabisco, but even that was only a 27th place. It was going to be a long year for Pak fans.