Fairways and Greens

Seoul Sisters at the Oscars
The LPGA has been making a real effort the last few years to promote their players beyond the confines of golf. And so we saw Laura Diaz, for instance, appear on the Today show (where she talked not about golf but about hair care issues - oh well, what do you expect, it's the Today show), and Grace Park appeared on the sports talk show Cold Pizza. Even within the golf world, there has been a bit more attention paid to the ladies, and the Sisters have gotten some of that attention. For instance, Christina Kim was interviewed recently on Tour Talk on the Golf Channel, and Jeong Jang was featured on Golf Academy, as she and her coach talked about her swing. JJ showed she not only has a great sense of humor, but that her English is pretty fluent!

Another big step in making the LPGA more mainstream came last week. As anyone who is a film fan knows, the movie world gave out its Academy Awards on Sunday, March 5th. In the last decade or so, it has become a cottage industry for various products to try to get placed inside the gift bag that the stars are given for presenting at the awards. The contents of these bags run the gamut from obvious choices like hair and make-up products, to all expense paid trips to resorts, to mobile phones and other electronic goodies. The LPGA managed to get themselves into the swag bag this year with a VIP ticket that could be cashed in at any LPGA event during the season. The ticket gave the celebrity in question all access to the event, as well as a private golf lesson at the event with one of a select number of LPGA stars.

In exchange for this gift, the LPGA were given the opportunity to send six of their players, as well as Commissioner Carolyn Bivens, to the Oscar after parties. Among the six were two Seoul Sisters: Christina Kim and Jimin Kang. The ladies were given access to two of the prestigious after parties: the Elton John party and the US Weekly/Rolling Stone Rock the Oscars party.

Being this is the Oscars, the question on everyone's mind will doubtless be: what were they wearing? Jimin Kang chose a lovely black Versace dress, while Christina wore an outfit by Sue Wong. As you might expect, the ladies thoroughly enjoyed themselves, with Christina Kim dancing all night (like that's a surprise!).

The next day, it was back to work, as the ladies boarded a flight to Mexico for the next LPGA event, the MasterCard Classic. But you can relive their night with the photos included here!

Christina Kim (second from left) and Jimin Kang
(far right) pose before their night at the Oscars

Jimin, Christina and Stephanie Louden

Christina strikes a pose

Andre Kim Fashion Show at the SBS Open
Andre Kim is one of the top designers in South Korea, and he is known for employing celebrities and athletes in his fashion shows. Among the famous Koreans who have been featured in his shows are Se Ri Pak and the actress (not the golfer!) Soo-Yun Kang.

Since the LPGA's first event of the year, the SBS Open, was sponsored by a Korean company, they decided it would be fun to have Andre give one of his fashion shows before the event. And keeping with tradition, Kim enlisted several LPGA stars to participate. The four who played along were Christina Kim, Shi Hyun Ahn, Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis. Not only did they get the full star hair and makeup treatment for the show, they got to walk the runways with the professional models, and later were allowed to keep the dresses! Christina supposedly wore her hair like that for several days thereafter. Good show, Andre!

JJ at NASCAR/LPGA Charity Golf Classic
What is the meaning of the photo at right? Has Jeong Jang decided to chuck the golf thing and pursue a career as a race car driver? Of course not! This photo is from a recent charily event co-sponsored by NASCAR and the LPGA. The lady golfers who participated, including Jeong Jang, got a chance to test drive some of the high powered racing cars the NASCAR boys drive. Later, the ladies gave a golf clinic, and played a pro-am. All the proceeds benefited charity, and a splendid time was had by all.

Hee Young Park wins Thailand Open

Over in Asia, a new tour has started up called the Ladies Asian Golf Tour. It is a mini-tour with small purses that allows players from all over Asia, and a few Europeans, to earn a little bread while the main tours are in their off season. The events take place all over Asia. As you can imagine, a large contingent of Koreans have joined this tour, including several stars from the KLPGA tour.

The biggest star from that tour participating is last year's Rookie of the Year Hee Young Park. It didn't take her long to make her presence felt. At the Thailand Ladies Open, contested February 22 - 24 at the Pattana Sports Club in Bangkok, Thailand, she zoomed out to a first round lead with a four under par 68. Tied with her was another up and coming Korean star, Ji Ae Shin, who has recently turned pro after winning the KLPGA's SK Enclean Invitational in 2005. Two more Koreans were tied for third place. Woh!

Hee Young continued her sterling play in the second round, shooting a 3 under par 69 to climb to a four shot lead over Korean compatriot Won-Mi Park. In the third round, she had a frustrating day with the putter, missing a bunch of short birdie chances, but still shot even par to easily claim the trophy. Hae Jung Kim of Korea finished second, Won-Mi Park fourth.

By the way, a Korean (Eun Hee Ji) also won the Malaysian Ladies Open, the next event on the tour, which was played March 2 - 4th. Hee Young finished fifth in that one.

PGA Show
Several Korean stars represented the LPGA at the PGA Show, a gigantic golf trade show that takes place in the Orlando area every January. Click on the thumbnails to see JJ and Christina in action!

Money List
The Koreans have gotten off to a rousing start in the 2006 season. As a result, they currently hold some of the top spots on the money list. Will they continue to be so well placed as the season progresses? Time will tell. It is important to realize that Annika Sorenstam has yet to play an event in 2006, however.

The Korean rookies have had interesting seasons so far. Seon Hwa Lee, certainly one of the top Korean rookie prospects, has played two great events, finishing just out of a top ten in the first one, and nearly winning the second one. Kyeong Bae has not been as solid, but still has made both cuts. The other Koreans have yet to find their feet, although Jee Young Lee did manage a top 25 finish in her first event.

The veterans have not yet really shone in '06. Grace Park has made one of two cuts, Hee-Won Han has been decent but not spectacular, and Jeong Jang just missed out on a top ten in her second start.

The younger stars are the Koreans with the most momentum right now, with second year players Meena Lee and Joo Mi Kim each winning events, Soo Young Moon notching a second place finish, and Sung Ah Yim also doing well. Christina Kim and Shi Hyun Ahn are still waiting for their first great event of the year.