Takefuji Classic: It's Vegas, Baby!

On the final day, a lot of the great action for the Korean ladies happened in the earlier groups. Several stars played simply brilliant rounds, and made up tons of ground on the field. No one was more brilliant than 2004 Rookie of the Year Shi Hyun Ahn. Ahn had started the event well with a 68, but in the second round stumbled to an even par 72 that dropped her into a tie for 22nd (on this course, an even par round was not a good thing). But Shi Hyun recovered and then some on the final day. After a slow start, she reeled off six straight birdies in the middle of her round, and 7 in 8 holes. Just like that, she had moved herself into contention. And two more birdies were to follow, including a lovely approach on the par 5 18th that drew back to within three feet of the hole. Her birdie there gave her a 9 under par 63, tying the course record Lorena Ochoa had set the day before, and tying her own best LPGA score achieved at the Welch's/Fry's Championship in 2004. A pity that they did not recap any of her great round on TV (other than the final two shots), but her performance in Vegas is bound to improve her confidence markedly in weeks to come.

Shi Hyun blistered the course in round 3

Peanut put herself into good position to make some noise

Shi Hyun wasn't the only Korean who shot lights out on this day. Jeong Jang also managed her best score of 2005 with a 7 under 65. This vaulted her from nowhere to a top ten finish (she finished 7th), and Hee-Won Han's 68 allowed her to capture her third top ten of 2005 (she finished 10th). Yet another promising Korean player, Young Kim, is quietly having her best LPGA season so far in 2005. After missing the cut in Hawaii, she followed that with two top twenties at her next two events. Her 5 under par 67 on the final day in Vegas allowed her to grab her first top ten of the year. She still hasn't really contended in an LPGA event, but she has won on the KLPGA (several times), so expect that we will be seeing her name on leaderboards more often than ever in 2005.

Alas, as well as all those players did, none of them was remotely in contention at the start of the day. Shi Hyun Ahn had managed to get to 13 under par, though, and for the moment had a slight chance of winning, provided that Wendy Ward, the tournament leader, made a mistake or two coming home. But the player who had the best chance to win when the day started, Mi Hyun Kim, unfortunately had another bad day with the putter. She started with a bogey, but made that back immediately with two quick birdies. It took until the 11th hole for her to get another birdie, but this got her to 9 under, which still left her with an outside chance to win if she could turn on the juice from there.

Didn't happen, though. Kimmie kept burning edges with putts, then on the 13th hole, met her Waterloo when her drive put her ball right next to a tree. Kimmie tried her best to deal with the nasty threat, but carded a punishing double bogey on the hole, and never contended again. She ended up shooting only even par for the day, the worst score for anyone finishing in the top 20. This left her stranded in 16th place. A bit disappointing, considering she had looked assured of a top ten at least for her efforts. Still, her game seems to be getting back to its usual level, which can only mean a lot more cash in her pocket over the next few months.

That leaves us with In-Bee Park, and the 16 year old did not back down from this challenge for an instant. She got a birdie right out of the gate, and added two more on the front nine to move to 10 under par. By the 13th hole, she had two more birdies, and found herself at 12 under, just two shots out of the lead. She certainly had a chance.

But Wendy Ward kept hitting good shots and kept making birdies, oblivious to the fact she had not won an event in nearly four years. In-Bee didn't make mistakes, but couldn't make the birdies she would need to win.

Still, she played brilliantly. On 17, a par 3, she hit her iron well, but it rolled to the fringe behind the green. She had told the commentators that her favorite part of the game was chipping and putting, and that she would compete with her sister to win french fries when practicing. The competition came in handy, for she hit a brilliant 30 foot putt that stopped just inches from going in the cup. So close.

Peanut had an unfortunate run in with an unfriendly tree

In-Bee played like a champ. Had a few more things
gone her way, she might even have won!

Again on 18, In-Bee played masterfully, hitting her 3rd shot onto the green not too far from the hole, then just missing her birdie putt by the barest of margins. Those two putts would not have won her the event, but would have put her into a tie for second with Ochoa. Still, she did what she had set out to do: her 12 under total left her in a tie for 5th place, bettering her 8th place finish of 2004. Two LPGA events, two sponsor's exemptions, two top tens. I'd say that's pretty impressive!

Her stats were quite solid: 36 of 54 greens, 36 of 42 fairways (Se Ri must be jealous!). And she averaged 285 yards off the tee. 285 yards! OK, it's desert golf, but any way you slice it, that's downright awesome.

After the event, she reflected back on her struggles on day two as the real reason she didn't contend on the final day: "I'm really disappointed by what happened yesterday," she said. "I'm going to practice hard on those little putts."

Don't worry, though. She might have been a little 'disappointed', but she's also proud that she did what she had set out to do. Doubtless she'll let that disappointment drive her to greater heights, as the great players do, instead of letting it get her down. All I can say in conclusion is, watch out for her at the 2006 Takefuji Classic!