Michelob Ultra Open: Summary

The Michelob Ultra Open, held for the last three years in Williamsburg, Virginia, is one of the most lucrative events on the LPGA's calendar. It's also a tournament that has been very good to the Korean players over the years. In the inaugural event, Grace Park recovered from a disastrous start to her final round and sunk an 18 foot birdie on the final hole to win the event by a shot. Last year, Se Ri Pak charged from well back in the field to collect her 22nd LPGA win (and, alas, still her most recent). It was good enough to qualify her for the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame, although she still needs to play a total of ten years on tour to actually get inducted (she will accomplish this in the 2007 season).

This year, though, has not been a good one for the Koreans. In no year since their invasion of the LPGA started in 1998 has it taken so long for a Korean player to notch a win. Although several of them have managed top fives, there hasn't even really been a single one who has had a good chance to collect a win this year, let alone actually done it. And unfortunately, this event would not prove to be the one that changed this trend.

Grace Park won the first Michelob Ultra Open in 2003

... And Se Ri won the following year! Drink up!

Elsewhere in this issue, you can read a little background about Se Ri Pak's title defense. Basically, it went pretty badly. She started her week out with another terrible score, just like she had the previous week, and basically insured that she would not be able to make the cut. This might be the first time she's ever missed the cut in a title defense, and only the second time she missed two consecutive cuts in her LPGA career. Granted, the conditions were very hard, particularly on day one, but those type of conditions were once her bread and butter. The slump continues.

Day one, as mentioned before, was a nasty one weather wise. The winds were fast, and temperatures were cold, and even the best players were struggling. Even Annika Sorenstam, who had not shot a bad round of golf since Clinton was President, ended up with a 5 over par 76 that basically ended her chances to extend her win streak to six events. Se Ri, as mentioned before, shot a 79. But other Korean players didn't do half bad. In fact, after the day was done, there were seven who managed top tens, all tied for 8th at 2 under par, including some surprising names. The first to finish at that score was Hana Kim, a rookie who had not had very much success so far in her brief LPGA career. Also notching that score was Jimin Kang, who might finally be starting to get confidence in the pro ranks. Joining them were Young-A Yang and the far more successful group of Grace Park, Mi Hyun Kim, Shi Hyun Ahn, and Jeong Jang. Whew!

Friday was completely canceled due to torrential rains that made the course unplayable. In fact, the players did get out there for a few holes, but the weather was so crappy that everyone was suffering. Grace, for instance, had two double bogies and a bogey in her first few holes. The LPGA mercifully decided to throw all those scores out and start anew on Saturday. The new plan became: play round 2 on Saturday, then 36 holes on Sunday. The ladies made sure to get their sleep for the marathon ahead.

After day two, there were still reams of Koreans within six shots of the lead. The scores had generally been a bit better on this day, although several of the ladies had over par results. In the best position to contend was Shi Hyun Ahn, who sat at 3 under par, just three shots out of the lead. She played in the second to last group on Sunday. The only other Koreans still under par were Jimin Kang and Kimmie, who were both at one under. Jimin looked poised for her best ever LPGA finish if she could hang on during the endless play on Sunday. Grace, Hana Kim and Gloria Park were at even par.

Michelob threw a party for the Asian players on tour before this
year's event. Several of the Seoul Sisters showed up to
enjoy the festivities. Here we see:
(L to R): Jung Yeon Lee, Mee Na Lee, Young Kim, Amy Hung and
Gloria Park

Gloria Park was this week's top
Korean finisher

Alas, none of the other top players was able to make a run at Cristie Kerr, who kept putting up good numbers until she ran away with the title. So far this year it seems that most events have been won by one or two players pulling away from the field, not even giving the ladies a reasonable shot on Sunday. So too here. The best Sunday was turned in by Gloria Park, who shot 72 followed by 69 to move into the top 5. It looked for a while like the Korean record of getting at least one player in the top five at each event would stand, but then Catriona Matthew chipped in a birdie on the 18th hole to shove Gloria into 6th. Shi Hyun Ahn, meanwhile, ended up 4 over par on the day with a pair of 73s, to finish tied for 8th with Peanut, while Grace Park just missed her third top ten of the year with a 12th place tie.

Since none of the players made big bucks this week, they all fell out of the top ten on the money list, and for the first time since 1998, no Korean player is in the top ten this late in the season. The time may soon be coming, though, when the ladies will rectify that. They are certainly long overdue for a little of their usual success. Perhaps they're saving it for the soon to be coming Major season!