2005 Weetabix Women's British Open

JJ finished 44th on the money list, and thus secured an exempt card for 2001. But the next year was not a particularly strong one for her. She only managed a single top ten, and finished 85th on the money list. There were rumors that she had worked so hard she had injured herself; sounds like the kind of injury a Korean would get! Fortunately, she got back into the swing of things in 2002, with a 34th place finish on the money list. Included in this were just two top tens, but one of them came at the British Open, where she notched a 4th place finish. It would be the first of many impressive performances in Majors.

2003 might have been the year when she started to make her climb from ordinary golfer to star. That year, she notched a career best six top tens. But most impressive was her performance in the four Majors: she did not finish worse than 21st in any of them. She got the 21st place finish at the Nabisco, following that with an 11th at the LPGA Championship. But it was at the US Open that she really made a mark.

On Sunday, on the cripplingly hard course at Pumpkin Ridge, she suddenly found herself just a shot out of the lead with many holes to play. For the first time, it looked like JJ might actually contend at a Major. But then she reached the par 3 5th hole. Water fronted the green, and you had to make sure you carried it. But hitting it too long was no bargain either. Unfortunately, JJ hit her tee shot into the water. Twice. She ended up with an 8 on the hole, and though she played the rest of her round well, that was enough to knock her back to a 6th place finish. Her first win would have to wait.

JJ at the 2003 US Women's Open
Exclusive SeoulSisters photo

JJ had a great 2004 season

By the end of the year, JJ had made it to 25th on the money list, her best performance yet. For the first time, golfers other than the Big Four were making a slight impression on the golf world. But it would be 2004 when the old order of things would start to really change. In 2003, the top four players were still the usual suspects. They would remain so in 2004, but suddenly, other players would be joining them. One of those golfers would be Jeong Jang.

In 2004, Jang managed career bests in top tens (9), and scoring average (70.78, which was more than a stroke better than her next best average). She also finished 12th on the money list, fifth best among Korean golfers on tour, and only one spot behind Se Ri Pak, her hometown heroine. She also put together four more solid Majors: three 23rd place finishes, and a 7th place at the US Open. Other golfers, including Shi Hyun Ahn, Gloria Park, and Christina Kim, had also advanced on the Big Four, so much so that you could now consider those four the Little Four. No longer was LPGA Korean golf all about those who had dominated it in years past.

Which brings us to 2005. Jeong got her first chance to shine before most golfers even laced up their shoes. A Women's World Cup of golf was created, in an effort to allow all countries, including those that were not eligible for the Solheim Cup, to play in a team tournament. Each country sent two representatives to South Africa to duke it out in a three day tournament. The Korean golf authorities decided that one player who played domestically should join one who played internationally for the team. The domestic player was easy to choose: Bo Bae Song, who had led the KLPGA money list in 2004. But the international player proved harder to pin down. None of the Big 4 were available or willing to play. Finally, the fifth best Korean golfer on the LPGA was asked, and she accepted. That player was JJ.

And the Korean team did marvelously! With just a few holes to go, they were tied for the lead with Japan and the Philippines. But the Japanese rallied and made a couple birdies coming in to win the cup by two shots. South Korea, however, finished tied for second. It was an auspicious start to the season for Jeong.

Bo Bae Song and JJ at the Women's
World Cup of Golf, February, 2005

JJ at this year's Sybase

If the Korean golfing order had begun to shift somewhat in 2004, it became completely upended in 2005. Suddenly, the Big Four were no longer the top four golfers. Two of them, the biggest of the Big, were having their worst seasons by a wide margin. Kimmie was no longer notching many top tens, and only Hee-Won Han was anywhere close to her form of old. Meanwhile, the first three victories by Korean golfers on tour in 2005 were all made by players who had never before won: Jimin Kang, Meena Lee, and especially Birdie Kim, one of the darkest horses on tour, who had surprised the world by capturing the most prestigious event in women's golf, the US Women's Open. Not only were the Big Four no longer at the top, but the precious Major club, which only Grace and Se Ri had belonged to before, was now joined by a third Korean who had had only one previous top ten before joining.

Meanwhile, Gloria Park and JJ were playing the most consistent golf of their lives. Both had chances to win, but were not able to get the job done. For JJ, her best chances came at the Sybase Classic, where she missed by a shot, notching a third career second place finish; and the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, where she started the final round in solo second place, but was not able to take advantage of an unlikely collapse by Hee-Won Han to take the title.

Which brings us to the Weetabix Women's British Open, the fourth Major of 2005, which this year was played at historic Royal Birkdale, often called the best course in Britain. JJ had not had her best Major season in 2005, with only one top 20 so far, that at the LPGA Championship (a 13th place). But she was otherwise coming into the event on a roll. She had made several top five finishes in the past few months, including her near miss at the Farr. And she was playing the Major where she had managed her previous best Major finish. Furthermore, as she practiced, she came to realize that she really liked the course, though she was careful not to tell anyone!