2005 Safeway Classic

I then walked back to the 9th tee to catch Kimmie. I nearly got beaned by a drive (not by Kimmie, by one of her amateurs). Kimmie in fact hit a great drive, although she got slightly outdriven. But her second shot, from 168 yards, was drop dead brilliant, to about 2 feet (after almost rolling in). Everyone gave her high fives and she had a great smile. The first amateur very nearly lipped out this gimme birdie, which caused his fellow amateurs to tease him mercilessly.

On the 10th tee, Kimmie gave an impromptu swing lesson to one of her amateurs. It went on for several minutes, and was really sweet. Anyone who says the Korean players don't interact in their pro-ams needs to see stuff like that. There was another moment where she flexed her arm muscles like JJ did at the British Open, while one of her amateurs was praising her amazing driving distance for her size. She then smoked another perfect drive.

Mi Hyun's swing
SeoulSisters.com exclusive photo

Meena Lee on the 10th tee
SeoulSisters.com exclusive photo

I watched Meena Lee next. She hit an approach on 9 as close as Kimmie had, then a nice drive on ten. One of her amateurs hit a drive that didn't even leave the teeing ground, which caused her to smile (her whole group was razzing this poor guy). I then wandered over to the putting green, where I saw Hana Kim practicing putting with a guy I assume was a coach or caddie. Hana struck me as very "California", with a deep tan, super white teeth, extremely fit body, etc. She is in fact a very striking young lady, and I have to believe that if she ever gets better she will be very popular, especially among male viewers.

There was also a big Nike tent by the driving range with a huge photo of Grace on it.

I caught back up to Meena and watched her for a few more minutes. On 11, no one could get their approach on the green; Meena's was on the back fringe, maybe 15 feet away from the hole. After everyone missed a putt from there, Meena stepped up and totally nailed it. Gorgeous putt. Everyone started chanting 'Meena', and she laughed in embarrassment.

Hana Kim
SeoulSisters.com exclusive photo

The Nike tent on the driving range
(click to enlarge)
SeoulSisters.com exclusive photo

SeoulSisters.com exclusive photo

Next I caught up with Young Kim on the 6th green, after she hit an iron to a foot (if that). She did this after several of her amateurs hit it to within about five feet, and I wondered if she could top it. She sure did. I talked with one of her amateurs, who told me that she had been doing that all day. Based on that and what I saw next, I felt like Kim Dyn-o-mite might be ready to do some serious damage this week (I call her Kim Dyn-o-mite because she wears a hat very similar to the one JJ wore on Good Times. As all fans of 70s TV know, JJ's nickname on the show was Kid Dyn-o-mite). While they waited to tee off on 7, YK continued to practice putting, and was nailing everything, even from 20 - 30 feet. And this is not an easy green. She did hit a lackluster iron on the 8th hole, though. Like Kangsy and Meena, her amateurs seemed to really like her, and talked to her a lot. When she came off 8, she signed a bunch of autographs, and seemed to speak English pretty well from what I could hear.

Next I found Christina Kim. She wasn't playing super well, but not badly either. She was, however, very animated, in an 'expletive deleted' type of way. She was cracking everyone up. At each hole, her dad would put a twenty dollar bill in the cup, and say that whoever made the putt would get it. I want to play with them!

After a decent but not great drive on 7, she mockingly hit her driver on the ground, while several people watching joked that she was doing a Lou Piniella imitation.

When she came off the 8th green, she saw me, recognized me and came over and gave me a hug. She asked me, 'How's SeoulSisters.com doing these days?' and we chatted for a moment (you may recall that I interviewed Christina for this site at the 2003 Safeway Classic). When I asked her how her game was, she replied, 'Well, the ball's going forward, at least'.

Young Kim and her 'Dyn-o-mite' hat
SeoulSisters.com exclusive photo

Joo Mi on the 8th tee at this year's pro-am
SeoulSisters.com exclusive photo

Meanwhile, I had yet to see Se Ri Pak, although I knew she was in Portland. Just then I thought I had spotted her. False alarm, it was Kim Saiki disguised as Se Ri. Ah well, it was still early, and she wasn't playing a pro-am today.

I then briefly watched Young Jo, then wandered to find Joo Mi Kim. It seems like the recent Korean players tend to be less interactive with their amateurs. Joo Mi did not say a thing to them the whole time I watched. They were also probably the worst golfers of the amateurs I watched. Joo Mi was definitely not playing at the level she had been at back at the Sybase, alas. A chip on 8 was really bad, and she didn't make a putt while I was watching. But she did hit a gorgeous, loooong drive on hole 9 before I parted with her. (But it goes to show how inaccurate first impressions can be - Joo Mi would go on to have her best ever finish in an LPGA event this week!).