Volume 3, Number 8, August 17, 2005
 

2005 US Girls' Junior Championship

 Pages 1, 2, Gallery
Continued...

But otherwise, the top players advanced into the second round. In-Kyung won her match in a rout, 7 and 6. In-Bee struggled a bit but held on for a 2 and 1 win, and Pressel and Karle and Wie-slayer Ya-Ni Tseng (a Taiwanese player who had beaten Michelle Wie in the final of the 2004 Pub Links) also advanced.

The second round took place in the afternoon on Wednesday, and again, the players you would expect made it on to the round of 16. With one exception. Taylore Karle, who had just finished setting the record and becoming the medalist in stroke play, was ousted by unknown Stephanie Connelly. But Pressel made it through, as did In-Kyung Kim in yet another rout, 6 and 4, over Wonjoo Choi of Korea (see what I mean? A lot of Koreans in this field!). Rebecca Kim, however, also bowed out in round 2, losing to Michelle Grilli 3 and 2. In-Bee and Tseng both advanced as well.

In-Kyung kept advancing

In-Bee Park at this year's Girls' Junior

Rounds 3 and 4 happened on Thursday. Only 16 golfers were left, and by the end of the day, just four would be standing. In-Bee was starting to get some buzz, as she kept plowing ahead while other top players were falling. In round three she dispatched with Kimberly Kim 3 & 1 despite struggling with her putter (and yes, another Korean American, this one from Hilo, Hawaii). In-Kyung, meanwhile, had her first big test of the event. She was matched up with Wie-killer Ya-Ni Tseng, and it was a tough battle. In fact, she was one down on the 18th hole, but Tseng hit her shot into the hazard, allowing Kim to square the match. Kim went on to win in 20 holes and moved on to the quarterfinals. Joanne Lee of Las Vegas, yet another Korean American, dispatched with Tiger Woods' niece Cheyenne Woods in another match 4 & 3.
The biggest surprise was that Morgan Pressel, as usual cocky about her chances, ran into a buzzsaw named Juliana Murcia Ortiz. Murcia Ortiz was 2 down with 2 to play, but won 17, then watched in shock as Pressel, who only needed to square the final hole, tried to reach the par 5 in two, only to dump her approach into the water. Thus, Murcia Ortiz squared the match, and they went into extra holes. On the playoff hole, Pressel was on in two, while her opponent was just off the green. But in an eerie replay of the US Women's Open, where Birdie Kim punched a bunker shot in to beat Pressel, Murcia Ortiz chipped in for birdie, and Pressel was not able to make the pressure putt to tie. And just like that, she was gone, and the media had to find someone else to focus on.

In the afternoon, the final four was determined. In-Kyung Kim defeated Connelly 3 and 2, while Murcia Ortiz also advanced. The other semifinal would be In-Bee Park, who beat Sydnee Michaels 2 up, playing against Joanne Lee, who won her match 3 and 2. So the final four consisted of two Koreans, a Korean American, and a South American. The Korean ladies once again showed just how many solid players they really had out there.

Joanne Lee in the semifinals

The semifinals took place on Friday. In the first, In-Bee easily handled the overmatched Lee, who had never advanced this far in her career in any significant event. The final margin was 6 and 4. Meanwhile, In-Kyung got up on Murcia Ortiz, and ended up winning on 17, 2 and 1. So the final was set, and like in 2003, it would be an all Korean affair. In-Bee, the heavy favorite, against the virtual unknown In-Kyung. Would In-Bee have a repeat of her dominant 2002 performance, or her struggling 2003 one? She obviously hoped it would be the former.

But unfortunately for her, she channeled her 2003 form in the final match on Saturday. Kim won the first two holes to immediately put In-Bee in a jam. In-Bee had a hard time hitting greens, and hit just one in the first seven. By the 7th hole, while In-Bee was again mired in the heavy rough, In-Kyung was on in two and drained a 20 foot birdie to go up by 4. In-Bee needed to right the ship quickly or it would be all over.

In-Kyung watches her shot in the final round
In-Bee finally won a hole on 9, but In-Kyung bounced back by winning 10. On the 11th hole, In-Bee again missed a short putt, allowing In-Kyung to take a five up lead with 7 to play. Time was running out, and now it would take a miracle to get her back into it. She had to just remember how Lee-Wuesthoff had come back from five down in 2003 to know that it was possible, however.

But not this day. On the 14th hole she drove her 5-wood into the water, and that was that. Kim was under the impression they were going to play 36 holes, not 18, and thus was pleasantly surprised when told that it was over, and that she had won. While In-Bee lamented another crushing loss, In-Kyung got a chance to celebrate the biggest win of her career. She will definitely bear watching in the future, as yet another possible future Korean star makes her presence felt on the world scene.

In-Kyung Kim holds her trophy tight. Congratulations!
Gallery