Meena Lee: Superstar?

After one round, there might have been some doubt. She opened the tournament with a one over par 73, which left her tied for 51st. Some other obscure Korean players had played considerably better. Chief among these was Il Mi Chung, who had been second on the KLPGA money list the year Meena finished first. Chung, who is known as the 'Smile Queen' in Korea because of her propensity to break into a grin while playing, had plenty to be happy about following a 3 under par 69. This left her 3 shots out of the lead, and definitely in contention. Young-A Yang and Aree Song shot 2 under par 70s, and also found themselves in the unusual position of contending. Christina Kim also put a 70 on the board, and she was a player definitely overdue to return to form. So not many were thinking that Meena was going to be a prime factor at this early point.

But in round 2, things improved markedly as Meena produced a 4 under par 68 to tie the low round of the day. This moved her to 3 under, which left her only 6 shots out of the lead. Better, it moved her into a tie for 10th. But despite that performance, she was still barely registering, for the other Korean players were putting on a show. Il Mi followed her 69 with her own 68, and now sat all by herself in second place. Heady, unfamiliar territory for her; she had never been anywhere near that high on an LPGA leaderboard after two rounds before. And right behind her sat Young-A, who, you guessed it, also shot a 68. And just a shot back of her, Christina Kim. So three of the top five golfers on the leaderboard were Korean or Korean American.

Meena putts during round 1

Meena in round 3

Up to this point, the tournament leader, Janice Moodie, had made almost no mistakes. She sat at 9 under par and looked in control. But in round 3, she struggled somewhat, and was only able to put up an even par 72. This allowed several players back into the tournament. Il Mi also shot even par, but because the lead remained 9 under, she was still only 2 shots back. She still had a fantastic chance to collect the trophy. Young-A was not so fortunate. She was one over par for her round when she produced a double bogey on 15 followed by a bogey on 17 to fall to 2 under par for the tournament. She still had a chance at a top ten, but a win seemed remote. Christina Kim did a little better, but her one over par 73 also made it difficult for her to win (she was now five shots back).

Meena, meanwhile, had gotten her bad round our of her system on Thursday, and was ready to play better. She came up with a 3 under par 69 to move to 6 under, just three shots behind Moodie. Just close enough to have a chance, just far enough back not to worry too much overnight.

On Sunday, Meena played the front nine free and easy. She made one birdie on the 7th hole, and all the rest pars, to move to 7 under. Il Mi made a bogey on the front nine to fall to 7 under, while Janice fell to 8 under herself. Meena was suddenly very in the tournament. Her response? She went on a birdie binge. She birdied 10, 12 and 13 to move to 10 under and the outright lead. With just a few holes left, she had a chance to correct the results of Corning and HSBC and collect her first trophy.

But she had a little case of the nerves on the next couple of holes, bogeying both. Trooper that she is, however, she kept telling herself to relax, concentrate and get the job done. And on 16, she birdied to move back to 9 under and the lead. Two holes later, she was still in the lead, and after finishing with another 3 under 69, had to wait and see whether anyone could catch her.

Il Mi had a chance. She made birdies on 13 and 14 to get to 8 under. But she met her waterloo at the 16th hole, which she double bogied. Although she birdied 17, she finished at 7 under, good for eventual third place. By far her best LPGA finish, though, and one that was still quite satisfying to her in the end.

Il Mi Chung is not called the Smile Queen
for nothing. She had her best ever
LPGA finish in Canada

Meena shakes hands with Catherine Hull after
finishing her round

Meena getting to know her newest friend

It wasn't going to be Katherine Hull, Meena's playing partner, who would catch Meena. She did make birdie on the last hole to move to 8 under, but that was just not good enough. No, the only player who could still upset the apple cart was Janice Moodie, but she was struggling. She fell to 7 under with a bogey on ten, but a clutch birdie on 16 moved her back to 8 under. After parring 17, she still had a chance: a birdie on the par 5 18th to tie and get into a playoff (the hole was too long to expect an eagle). Meena couldn't even watch, because she knew what was at stake, so she had her caddie relay to her what was happening. Well, Moodie missed the green in three, which meant she needed to chip in from the fringe to tie. It didn't happen, and in fact, she ended up three putting for double bogey to fall to a tie for 6th. A disappointing end for her after leading most of the week. But for Meena, it was ecstasy,and she could not hold back the tears. At last, she was a winner on tour.

Although she is still quite a ways behind Creamer for Rookie of the Year, her win at the Canadian Open gave Meena a lot of other benefits. She obviously does not have to worry about Q-School next year (or the year after that). She moved up to 7th on the money list, only a few hundred dollars behind Birdie Kim, and will probably qualify for all the remaining specialty events in 2005, such as the Samsung, the ADT and the Tournament of Champions. She has also separated herself from the other Korean rookies as the best of the bunch (although, you never know - maybe one of the others will now step to the plate!). By collecting her third top 2, she becomes one of the few Korean players who has ever gotten three top twos in a year.

So how good is she? Are we witnessing the start of a superstar career? Will she struggle with consistency or be a regular force on tour from now on? Can she overcome her lack of distance with her brilliant short game? Will her wonderful smile, great personality and gumption earn her a sponsorship (hard to believe, but she is one of the few Korean players who does not have one)? Time will tell, but as she said after the HSBC, doing so well had given her confidence, and just two weeks later, she had a trophy. What kind of confidence will she have now that she's won?