Corning Classic: Ace In the Hole

The final group got to the par 5 14th next. But neither Icher nor Hee-Won walked away with a birdie. And even Annika made par here. Lee had suddenly become the player to beat, with just four holes to play. Could she hold on and win one of the most improbable victories in the history of Koreans on the LPGA?

The next hole was the par 3 15th, and Lee again hit a marvelous tee shot to within about five feet. It looked good for her fifth straight birdie. Then Kang stepped up. Choking down on a 9 iron, she swung, and watched as her ball bounced once, twice, then found the bottom of the cup. A hole in one! She erupted with joy, jumping up and down like a hyperactive jack-in-the-box, in the process inventing a new dance craze called the Kang that is sure to sweep the nation sometime soon (at least the South Korean nation!). Even the commentator at the hole was jumping, and the crowd went absolutely crazy. Jimin's smile threatened to break her face in two, and she eagerly high fived several gallery members to celebrate. Even Lee gave her a hug in congratulations.

Just like that, Jimin was back into a tie for the lead at 14 under. The golf gods had given her a little karmic payback for that one stroke penalty on 14 on Saturday. In all the time I've watched golf, I don't ever recall a player making a hole in one to grab a share of the lead on Sunday. This was some seriously exciting golf.

Jimin aced the 15th hole on Sunday. Wow!

Jimin should be called the Smiling Assassin.
All throughout her round, a smile was plastered on her face.

Lee still had a chance to retake the lead, but just missed her birdie putt. She tapped in for par, and the two players went to 16 all tied at the top.

Meanwhile, the other challengers fell away one by one. Hee-Won kept giving herself great chances for birdies; on many holes, she was the closest to the pin. But she missed every one of them. Everything seemed perfect with her game: her drives, her irons, even her putting, but the darn putts always just missed falling. She would wind up shooting even par for the day and finishing in a tie for 4th.

Icher, too, continued to struggle. She fought a losing battle with a tree root on 16 for her third double bogey of the back nine, and that was it for her. Only Sorenstam seemed prepared to make a charge after birdieing two of her last three holes. But she had simply run out of time. The tournament came down to Lee and Kang, two players with one top twenty each between them in their LPGA careers.

Jimin struck first. They both played the 16th hole decently, but Lee was not able to make her birdie. Kang had a nice 10 footer and dunked it for birdie. Now she sat at 15 under par with two holes to go.

But on 17, both players would not give an inch. After two great drives, Lee put her approach slightly above the hole, Kang slightly below. Advantage Jimin, but Lee putted first and made her birdie to roar back into a tie at 15 under. She smiled broadly, as if to say 'touche' to her opponent.

Kang's turn. She sized up the ten footer carefully, then stroked it. Lip out. Agonizing! It was one of those lip-outs that very nearly sank into the hole, then at the last minute popped back out. She made par, though, and with one hole to go, it was all square.

Lee drove first, and put her drive into some rough near a tree. Not a good move. Jimin hit three wood off the tee to make sure her drive found short grass, and it did. Now Lee pretty much had to get par. But her second shot was blocked by a tree, so she had to punch out. Unfortunately, her punch out rolled just a tad too far into some more deep rough. An up and down from there would be extremely tough, and Jimin made it tougher by landing her approach on the green 20 feet from the cup.

Lee walked all the way to the green then back, and hit her little pitch. It landed on the green and rolled... and rolled. It slowed down, but would not stop rolling, and slowly, agonizingly, it trickled off the green and, unbelievably, into yet more deep rough. She just could not get a break all of a sudden. She sighed and chipped it relatively close, but now Jimin had two putts to win. Which she did easily. Lee had come close, but in the end, it was Jimin Kang, the (barely) more experienced player, who walked off with the trophy.

The battle was all square with one hole to go

In the end, Jimin collected another trophy - this one
from her first LPGA victory!

Afterwards, Jimin held a very entertaining press conference with the media. She teased the commentator, who kept trying to get her to talk about her first bogey on the front nine. When she finally got to it, she smiled and asked him, 'satisfied?' The whole press conference went like that. Jimin let everyone know why she smiles so much on the course: because she loves being out there and feels blessed to be able to golf for a living. What a refreshing and genuine attitude! After all, why not love it?

Jimin made herself a lot of friends thanks to her fan friendly attitude and explosive game this week. I guess she's no longer the Seoul Sisters' 'Ace in the Hole'. With her unbelievable ace on the fifteenth hole this week, she announced to the world that she had arrived. I think you'd have to go back to Se Ri Pak's 45 foot par save on the second to last hole at the 2003 Ping Banner Health to find a Seoul Sister moment this scintillating. And in terms of what it might mean to her career for years to come, perhaps it really is a shot heard round the world for Jimin. Time will tell. But in the meantime, she'll enjoy her new Rolex watch (given to all first time winners on tour), and will eagerly await her winner's check, which will more than double her career earnings. Congratulations to her, and best of luck to her in the future!