Meena Lee: Superstar?

Just like that, the only Korean player left was Meena Lee. Her third round match was against #31 Liselotte Neumann. Neumann had been playing quite well all week, but she met her match against Meena, who rode her brilliant putter to a 3 and 2 win. Well, at least one Korean made it to the quarterfinals.

The big money came if you got to the final four. The losers in the quarterfinals were guaranteed $50,000. But anyone who made it to the final four was guaranteed no worse than $150,000. That's as much as many tournaments pay for a win. And it wouldn't be easy for Meena to get there, either, as she was facing Pat Hurst. The one advantage Meena might have is that she did not play in the Open the week before, whereas Hurst had. Perhaps Hurst would be running out of gas.

Or perhaps Meena would rise to the occasion and show what she could do. It was a hard fought battle all the way, but Meena finally managed to take the lead on the 16th hole. Hurst was not able to win a hole after that, and Meena thus squeaked into the semifinals 1 up. Meena fighting!

Meena in the quarterfinals

Meena continued her great play against
Wendy Ward in the semifinals

Meanwhile, Candie Kung managed to eliminate Annika, meaning that the only player who had been ranked top ten who was still in the tournament was Kung herself. The other two making it through were Wendy Ward and Marisa Baena, who proved that her beating Grace was not a fluke by dispatching Karrie Webb.

It would be Meena Lee against Wendy Ward in one semifinal, Baena vs. Kung in the other. Lee had an enormous disadvantage in length to Ward, who was hitting at time 40 or 50 yards past Meena on some holes. But like had been the case all week, Lee's short game and her determination kept her in the battle. Still, Ward had the advantage most of the day. She was still 1 up with just a few holes to play when things started to turn Meena's way. Lee finally grabbed a one up lead on the 16th hole when Ward had trouble with a bunker, then squared 17. On the 18th hole, Ward needed to make something happen, but again hit a bad approach shot. Even though Lee only made par there, she still squared the hole, and thus won the match 1 up. It was on to the finals for Meena Lee!

Afterwards, Ward hit the nail on the head when asked what the difference in the match was: "There were about three or four holes out there that we (caddy & player) thought we'd walk away 1-up and she'd drain it. She's a very good putter. "

Baena, not surprisingly, upset yet another top player by beating Kung two up, so the final set Lee vs. Marisa for the championship. And it was another tooth and nail affair, at least early on. Lee was 1 down when she hit her second shot on the par 5 9th hole into a terrible spot under a tree. She was able to get her third shot to the rough behind the green, but Baena put her third about six feet from the flag. So Lee needed some kind of wonderful shot, because the slope was running very fast away from her. She didn't get it, and ended up in the rough on the other side. Then, rather than try to make the chip for par, she simply conceded the hole to Baena. A bit of inexperience? Perhaps, but it seems unlikely she would have been able to square the hole in any event.

Lee bounced back quickly, winning the 10th hole to move back within one. But on the next hole, the par 5 11th, both ladies put their third shots close. Marisa, however, was below the hole and made her birdie, while Lee, above the hole with the shorter but harder putt, missed hers. This might have been the pivotal hole in the match, looking back.

Down two again, Meena did what she always seemed to do: reached deep and pulled something out of her hat. Thus, she won the 12th hole to again move to within one. But on 13, it was Baena's turn to win a hole. Once again 2 down, Meena was running out of holes. The 14th was an important chance for her to try, once again, to swing the momentum back her way. But this time, luck was not on her side, and she lost another hole. Now it looked like the event was all but lost: 3 down with four holes to go.

Meena beats Ward to advance

Meena made some seriously clutch
putts to stay in her match with
Baena

Meena, however, didn't give up. She told herself that she just needed to focus on winning one hole at a time. If she could chip away, she had a chance. She started the chipping process on 15. After Baena only could muster par, Lee was left with a 15 foot birdie putt. Not one you would expect her to make. But Meena had gotten to the final on the back of her putter, and to the delight of the crowd, make it she did. 2 down. On the next hole, Baena once again had to settle for par. But she was certainly not giving Meena anything for free. If Lee wanted to come back, she would have to make birdies. Another lengthy birdie putt, this one about 20 feet, she again read it perfectly, and pumped her fist vigorously when the ball found the hole. Just like that, she was back in the race. 1 down, two holes to go.

But she was only able to square 17 after some trouble with her tee shot. Still, she had one more chance. On 18, her approach found the green, but a ways from the hole, and over a ridge. She pretty much had to make the birdie putt, but she just couldn't do it. When Baena put her putt within a few feet, it was all over. Meena reluctantly conceded the hole, and had to settle for second place... again. But the $300,000 consolation prize doubtless made that a little easier to take. It vaulted her up to 11th on the money list, and was by far the biggest check of her young career.

So how do you follow an act like that? Well, after a decent showing at the Jamie Farr, she went to the BMO Canadian Open to try her luck. Believe it or not, this event, once a Major, had fallen on seriously hard times. Only two of the top 30 players on the money list had shown up in Halifax to contest the title; and the top seed was none other than Meena. But there was no reason to believe that meant anything. After all, she had made almost all her money for the year in two events. She had missed a lot of cuts in the process. Which one was the real Meena Lee? Just how ready was she to contend?