Magazine 2005 Weetabix Women's British Open

Volume 3, Number 8, August 17, 2005

2005 Weetabix Women's British Open

Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, Gallery, Results

Of course, there was a very important roadblock to success at this event: the weather. Links golf in Britain is notorious for the changeability of the weather, and when it gets bad, it can get really, really bad. And after several days of ideal weather during the practice rounds, the field got a chance to see just how bad it can get when play started on Thursday, July 28th.

How bad was it? The rain pounded down, the wind swirled. They had to stop play occasionally to fix the course. The players were bundled up in so many coats and hats that you could scarcely tell who was who. Naturally, in this maelstrom, the scores ballooned. By the end of the round, the average score was over 77, and numerous players shot 80 or worse. And there were many high profile casualties.

Annika Sorenstam, who had won the first two Majors of the year and hoped to notch a third, managed to hang in there with a respectable one over par 73. But Lorena Ochoa shot a positively pitiful 85 to doom her chances of winning. She would go on to miss only her second cut since joining the LPGA. Jimin Kang and Birdie Kim both shot 80s and would likewise miss the cut, and Meena Lee, who had won just two weeks ago, shot an 82. Among the other victims of Thursday were Korean stars such as Grace Park (77), Mi Hyun Kim (79; she too would go on to miss the cut), Christina Kim (79) and Gloria Park (81). Indeed, it almost becomes easier to list the players who did well rather than those who struggled.

JJ during round 1 of the British Open

JJ played terrifically in the pouring
rain on day 1

Se Ri Pak, who had won this Major back in 2001, didn't even make it through her round. Suffering from a finger injury, she played nine holes before giving up. It was the first time she had ever dropped out of a Major, so it must have been a serious problem. She had even hung in there during her bad play at the LPGA Championship a month earlier. But this time, she could not endure.

Among those who survived day one relatively intact were Hee-Won Han, who tied Annika with a 73; Young Kim, who shot 74; and Michelle Wie and Soo Yun Kang, who shot 75s that must have felt like 69s to them, all things considered.

But if there was one indelible image of day one, it was of little Jeong Jang flexing her muscles as she walked off one of the tee boxes, laughing all the way. Laughing? You bet! Her caddie had told her to try and keep it light, because everyone was suffering through the same rotten conditions. JJ got her round going with an eagle on the par 5 6th, but it was on the back nine that she truly set herself apart. With her low drives cutting through the wind, she notched birdies on 11 and 12, a bogey on the tough 13th, and a birdie on 14 to move to 3 under. One more birdie on the par 5 18th, and she sat at 4 under par for the day. 4 under! In some of the most brutal conditions they had played all year. It was a phenomenal round, one of only two in the 60s on day one. Understandably, JJ now sat on top of the leaderboard. But how long could it last?

On day 2, JJ answered that in a resounding way, showing that she was going to give the field, and the course, all it could handle. The scoring was much better on this day, and naturally, JJ played better than she had on day one. But this meant woe for the rest of the field. Early in the day, a couple of players had gone low to challenge JJ's spot on the leaderboard. One of these was amateur Louise Stahle from Sweden, who shot a 7 under par 65 to move to 6 under total. Cristie Kerr shot a 66 to move to 5 under. But JJ, who started in the afternoon at 4 under, quickly reasserted her dominance by reeling off four straight birdies from holes 4 to 7 before a bogey on 8. This nonetheless moved her to 7 under, the lead, and a great position from which to continue her assault.

How did she do it? With a little of everything. Great driving, phenomenal irons, and most of all, patience when things didn't go quite right. She gave herself a ton of short putts, and made enough of them to give the field fits. On the back nine, she managed another birdie on 11, then followed that with two more birdies on 14 and 15. About the only disappointment was that she was not able to cash in a birdie on either of the final two par 5s (holes 17 and 18, as well as 15, were all par 5). Still, she finished her day with a sizzling 6 under par 66, good for a 10 under total and a four shot lead. This was all uncharted territory for the little Korean.

Jeong Jang had the putter working
on Friday

Grace struggled, like most of the field, in
round one, but did much better on
Friday

Day 2 was cut day, and several prominent Koreans did not make it to the weekend. Most disappointing was Hee-Won Han, who managed a 73 in the torturous conditions on Thursday. But on Friday, she ended up with an 80 and missed the cut. She has still yet to finish top ten in a Major since joining the LPGA tour. For her, the disaster came on the 8th hole, where she made a quintuple bogey 9; otherwise, her round was good enough to make the cut. Mi Hyun Kim also missed the cut, albeit by just a stroke. Kimmie is well known for never missing the cut, and indeed, it seems that every time she does miss the cut these days, it happens at the British Open: she has missed the cut here the last three years. But it's not like she can't play British courses well; she finished second at Sunningdale in 2001 (the year Se Ri won).

Also missing the cut were Joo Mi Kim and Meena Lee; since Meena missed it, she essentially handed the Rookie of the Year over to Creamer. With the points doubled at the British Open, she needed to finish quite well to make up some ground on Creamer to have a shot at the award. Jimin and Soo Yun Kang also missed the cut by one shot, and Birdie Kim and Gloria Park did not even come close to making it this year.

But there were some success stories, too. Grace Park rebounded from her horrible first round 77 with a quite excellent 68. This moved her all the way to one over par for the event, a tie for 23rd. Christina Kim managed to just sneak in the cut line, as did Sung Ah Yim and Bo Bae Song. Shi Hyun Ahn, who has had a sophomore year she'd just as soon forget, also shot a 68 to make it to the weekend. And Young Kim followed her respectable 2 over par round with her own 68 to vault into the top ten. Kim has now played well going into the weekend at three straight Majors. And Michelle Wie shot a 5 under par round to move to 2 under herself.