2005 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic

On Sunday, the early day fire was created by Paula Creamer. The likely Rookie of the Year had not played all that well her first three rounds, and sat at one under par to start Sunday. But she exploded on Sunday, going 7 under for the best round of the tournament, a 64. Suddenly, she had carded an 8 under par total, and though that was not likely to be good enough to win, it put a little pressure on the leaders not to backslide too much. It also reminded them that low scores could be had on this course, and if someone closer to the lead managed that, it could be a long day for JJ and Hee-Won.

Which it turned out to be. Hee-Won started all right, with two birdies and a bogey in her first four holes, then all pars the rest of the front nine. This left her at 12 under par, with a solid lead going into the home stretch. But JJ was never able to get things going. She had two early bogies and fell to 7 under par. She would rally a bit later, but for the moment, the tournament was Hee-Won's to lose

Or so it seemed, but in fact several players who started four and five shots back were having good days, and Hee-Won knew she could not relax or they would catch her. The most dangerous of these was Heather Bowie, another player, like Se Ri, who had always played well on this course. She would make three birdies on the front nine to move to 9 under, and another birdie on 10 (and a long one to boot) would get her into double digits. But a bogey on 11, coupled with a birdie by Hee-Won on 10, seemed to indicate that this would be Hee-Won's day. She now sat at 13 under par with a four shot lead. Certainly a player of Hee-Won's caliber could hang on to that kind of lead.

Hee-Won on Sunday

Hee-Won and her gallery during round 3

Sung Ah Yim from the Corning Classic

The problem was, Bowie would not go away. She followed her bogey on 11 with two straight birdies to move to 11 under. This would still not be a problem had Hee-Won played a fairways and green game, but suddenly her game started to collapse. First she missed a very makeable par putt on the 11th hole to fall to 12 under. Then she started missing fairways and greens. But the real disaster happened on 13, a not particularly tough hole. Hee-Won hit a horrible drive that missed the fairway, forcing her to punch out. Well short of the green in two, she still had a reasonably short club into the green. No problem for an iron player of Han's caliber? Think again. She hit an absolutely awful wedge that flopped into a greenside bunker... and buried. A fried egg lie. It was all she could to get it out, and she ended up double bogeying the hole. She would play the next hole just as badly, making another bogey, and in just two holes, she had gone from a lead to 9 under and a two shot deficit. Bowie now had the advantage.

To Hee-Won's credit, she didn't give up, and birdied the 15th hole to move back to 10 under. But by now there were several other Korean players making a run at the top. One of these was Sung Ah Yim, who had started the day at six under. After an early bogey, she rallied with birdies on 4, 7 and 10 to move to 8 under. She then made a marvelous birdie on 12, and another on 13. Just like that, she had moved to 10 under, just one shot out of the lead. Yim is one of those Korean rookies who has played wonderfully in the shadow of Paula Creamer this year. Four golfers - Joo Mi Kim, Meena Lee, Young Jo and Sung Ah Yim - have been alternating being the top Korean rookie all year. Meena Lee was coming off her runner up finish at the Match Play championship the previous week, but had a mediocre result at the Farr. Yim had been beaten in the first round at the Match Play, but now looked ready to challenge for the title this week. Go figure.

Another Korean who was doing well on Sunday was Gloria Park. Starting the day at 5 under, she had managed to move herself up to 8 under par as she came into the final few holes. Still, with the easy par 5 17th and the par 5 18th to play, it looked like Bowie was going to take the event unless Han could rally. But Gloria still made it interesting. She sunk a clutch putt on the 15th hole to move to 9 under, then left herself a dicey 20 footer on 17 for birdie. But to her credit, she absolutely nailed that one as well, moving to 10 under. If she could birdie 18, she could potentially catch Bowie, at least for the moment.

However, Bowie soon ran into troubles of her own. On the par 5 17th, she hit her drive into the rough, and eventually ended up missing a short par putt. Thus, she fell back to 10 under. Just then, Gloria missed her own birdie putt on 18, but made a knee-knocker of a par putt to get into the clubhouse at 10 under par. A few minutes later, Bowie finished with her own par on 18. Thus, at that moment, there were at least two players in the house at 10 under, with Hee-Won and Yim also at 10 under with holes to play. Could anyone beat that? Could another Korean join them?

Sung Ah was not able to cash in a birdie on 17, and was the next player to reach 18. She got to the back fringe of the green in three shots, and had a tricky but certainly makeable birdie putt. If she nailed it, she would take the outright lead and likely win. Well, give her credit for giving it a good run. Her aggressive putt just missed going into the hole, then rolled four feet past. Unfortunately, she was not able to make the par coming back, and so missed a golden opportunity to join the playoff. Somewhat of a rookie mistake, if you will, but at least she gave that birdie putt a chance. She should have other chances in the future.

Jeong Jang, meanwhile, made a birdie on 17 to move to 8 under. It was probably a case of too little too late, as she would need an eagle on 18 to get into the playoff. But now it was Hee-Won's turn, and a lot was riding on the putt. If she could get a birdie on this easy 17th hole, she could potentially make up for all the bad mistakes she had made on this back nine and win the event. Her putt was not an easy one, though, and wound through some shadows. And when she struck it, it was not struck well, falling a foot or two short. But the real disaster was when she failed to make that short par putt. Suddenly, she had fallen to 9 under, and now had to make birdie on the last hole to join the other two in the playoff. On 18, she gave herself a chance with a 15 foot birdie try, but could not coax it in, and left the course knowing she had definitely let this one get away. This was similar, really, to what had happened in 2003, when she played the last few holes poorly to allow Se Ri Pak to steal the title. Still, she notched another top five finish, and maybe a little more experience that will help her the next time.

Gloria Park in round 1

Gloria sinks a clutch birdie on the 17th hole during
regulation

Gloria drops her ball during the playoff

So now it all came down to a playoff. They drew straws, and Heather Bowie got to play first. They played the 18th hole again, and off the tee, Gloria had a slight advantage. But by the time they got to the green, it was Bowie who had the chance to strike first. She missed her birdie and had to settle for a tap in par. Gloria had also missed her birdie, but had a longer than she would have liked putt for her own par. But once again, Gloria reached deep and nailed the par to keep her title hopes alive.

They moved on to the par 5 17th hole. This time, Bowie hit a great drive, and her second shot almost reached the green. Gloria laid her second shot up to a good distance, but was not able to put her wedge all that close. In fact, she had put it almost to the exact same spot she had left her shot on this hole an hour previously. Bowie hit a masterful chip that nearly went in; tap in birdie. Now Gloria was really in a bind. A 15 foot birdie must make. But apparently she remembered the line from before, because, for the second straight time, she nailed a perfect putt into the center of the cup. The commentators were dumbfounded at her will. Gloria would not, it seemed, be denied!

They then played the 18th hole again. This time, however, Gloria did not hit a good drive, and wound up in some deep rough. With her wrist and shoulder problems, it would be tough for her to get the ball out of the grass and over the creek ahead of her. But laying up was not an option, so she went for it... and the ball landed in the creek. And that was pretty much it. Bowie made a routine par and collected the trophy shortly thereafter. For the second time this season, Gloria came up just short in her bid for her third title. But she had no reason to feel ashamed, for she had made all sorts of clutch shots to keep her hopes alive. It was her bad luck to play an opponent who wouldn't give up, either. But hopefully Gloria, and all the Koreans who finished well, will bring some confidence with them into the European events coming up in the next few weeks. A win at either the Evian or the British Open would certainly help them forget their near misses in Toledo!