2005 ShopRite LPGA Classic

Highlights:

On a course where she holds the course record, Se Ri Pak was hoping to get her game back in gear. During the tough weather in the first rounds, things went pretty well for her. She's shown that she can play well this year in tough conditions, and did so again by notching an even par round to finish the first round tied for fifth. But as the weather cleared up, her game went south (see below).

Mi Hyun Kim also started well, carding a 2 under par 69 in round one, one of only four players to break par this day. Jeong Jang was another of the players to do so, shooting 70. So after the first round, five Koreans were in the hunt, with Shi Hyun Ahn and Jimin Kang also joining Se Ri at even par.

It proved to be a great week for Jimin, who struggled a bit in round 2, but then exploded in round 3 with a phenomenal 62, tying the new course record (which Laura Davies had set on Saturday, breaking Se Ri's old mark). Not only was this her lowest ever score by several strokes, it also set a new LPGA record. On the back nine, she managed a jaw dropping 27: birdies on 11, 13, 14, 15, an eagle on 16, and birdies on 17 and 18. It marked the first time in LPGA history that anyone had ever shot a 27 for nine holes, breaking the old record of 28 co-held by ten players (including Young Kim). This was only good enough for a 7th place, but it marked her second consecutive top ten, following her win the previous week at Corning.

Mi Hyun Kim and Jeong Jang also finished with a bang. Kimmie shot a 66 and Jang a 65. But by this time, Annika Sorenstam, Laura Davies and Juli Inkster had distanced themselves from the field, so they were not able to finish in the top three.

Other players who managed good tournaments included Shi Hyun Ahn, who notched only her third top 20 of the year (a tie for 18th). Sarah Lee, who had been struggling mightily, also made her third top 20 with a tie for 18th. And Christina Kim had a great final round to just miss out on a top ten, finishing 13th.

Se Ri Pak during round 2

Jimin Kang during round 2

JJ during the ShopRite

Lowlights:

Se Ri started well, but got progressively worse throughout the week. She shot a fairly mediocre round on Saturday, a 75, but really hit rock bottom on Sunday. Her 14 over par 85 was three shots worse than her previous worst score on the LPGA. This meant she made the cut, but finished dead last among those who did. It's almost impossible to imagine what could have been so wrong with her game that she could shoot such an abysmal score, especially on the same day when Kang shot a 62, 23 shots better.

None of the Korean rookies did particularly well here, either, missing a chance to gain some ground on the absent Paula Creamer. The best result was turned in by Meena Lee, who only managed a tie for 43rd. Sung-Ah Yim finished in a tie for 68th, while Young Jo and Joo Mi Kim missed the cut.

Grace Park also struggled mightily all week. She's fallen into a habit lately of putting up a really bad first round, then playing better on the weekend when she is too far back to catch up. Here she went 76-70-70 to finish tied for 43rd. She has only two top tens all year.