SeoulSisters Awards

Shot of the Year
Se Ri Pak, 2nd shot, playoff hole, LPGA Championship
Some shots are routine, some are important; and then there are the ones that are unforgettable, that define a career. This year, there was one shot that fell into the latter category, and it was undoubtedly the shot of the year, maybe the decade. Se Ri Pak, after two long years in the wilderness, found herself in a playoff with Karrie Webb for the year's second Major. She had not even been in contention at a tournament in well over a year. Webb, meanwhile, had already won the first Major of the year. To make things even worse, Se Ri hit a terrible drive on the hole, leaving herself with nearly 200 yards to the flag; Webb, meanwhile, was perfect off the tee, and only had about 130 yards.

Se Ri has shown throughout her career an uncanny knack at hitting a superlative shot just when she needs to the most. One does not win 22 events, including four Majors, without hitting a few amazing shots. Perhaps the most famous of these came during her second Major win, when she hit her second shot out of a hazard while standing ankle deep in a pond. But even that shot wasn't crucial to her victory; this one was. Quite simply, if she were going to have any chance at taking the crown, she had to at least make par; make birdie, and she might well win outright. But how was she going to make birdie from so far away from the flag, on one of the toughest holes on the course?

The answer is, she hit arguably the greatest shot of her career, a perfect 4 iron hybrid that was perfectly on line, landed on the green and tracked beautifully to the hole. It stopped perhaps an inch or two short of rolling all the way in. The crowd went absolutely crazy, whooping and hollering with delight at the amazing shot. Se Ri was at first not sure just how good the shot was, but after hearing the reaction, jumped for joy into her caddie's arms. A few minutes later, she tapped in the birdie, and the Major was hers. Her comeback was complete, and it was all thanks to her shot for the ages.

Honorable Mentions:
Seon Hwa Lee, 3rd shot, 17th hole, Sunday, Master Card Classic
Seon Hwa had put herself into trouble off the tee. The second shot would have required her to hit over a hazard to a tough flag position. Thus, she was forced to lay up. Her third shot, from 105 yards, was perfectly on line, landing ten feet short of the hole and nearly rolling into the cup to the delight of the galleries watching. From there she easily saved par, and went on to collect her second consecutive second place finish.

Jee Young Lee, tee shot, 10th hole, day one, Safeway Classic
This was the best shot I personally witnessed all year. Jee Young Lee decided to lay up on this par 5, and thus hit a 7 wood off the tee. There were bleachers behind the tee box, and a nice sized gallery. Lee absolutely murdered the ball; it ended up going very high in the air and 250 yards in distance. The shot was so impressive looking that the entire gallery gasped in amazement.

Most Dramatic hole of the year
Mi Hyun Kim, 17th hole, round four, Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open
Mi Hyun Kim had not won a tournament in nearly four years, but as she entered the final round of this event, she had a several stroke lead. But it only took Lorena Ochoa a few holes to catch her. Despite pressure from Ochoa, Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam, however, Kimmie refused to buckle, and every time it looked like she might drop out of the lead, she would rally and recapture the momentum.

By the time she reached the 17th hole, she still had the lead, but by no means had the tournament locked up. That's when she really turned on the jets. On this par 5, she hit one of the longest drives of her career, a 290 yard monster that even she did not believe she could have produced. Keeping aggressive, she hit her second shot over treacherous bunkers onto the green, and two putted for birdie. The birdie secured the win for her.

Clutch performance of the year
Seon Hwa Lee, final round, ShopRite Classic
There were oodles of great clutch performances by Korean golfers this year (take a gander at the honorable mentions). But this is the one that gets the award in my opinion. Entering the final nine holes, there were any number of golfers who could have walked off with this title, including Annika Sorenstam, who had easily won the event the year before. But Seon Hwa Lee took control of the tournament and refused to let go. Even a ferocious run by Sophie Gustafson, who made birdie after birdie and kept the pressure on, was successfully matched and then bettered by the eventual Rookie of the Year. By the end of the nine holes, she had run away and hidden from the field, capturing a three shot victory, and making a birdie on the final hole for good measure. She had won the tournament by playing a virtually flawless back nine: great drives, fantastic approach shots, perfect putting, even a couple approach shots that almost went into the hole on the fly. It was about as clutch a response to pressure as one could ask for.

Honorable Mentions:
Se Ri Pak, final round, LPGA Championship
A half a dozen golfers were in contention to win this tournament, right until the end. Se Ri walked out with the trophy. This win was about more than the final shot; she was constantly scrambling to stay ahead the whole back nine.

Kim Kim, final round, US Women's Amateur
An amazing performance from a 14 year old girl in the biggest tournament of her life. She consistently came up with great shots when she needed them most. In the end, it took a birdie on the final hole for her to claim the prize. That is a clutch performance.

Mi Hyun Kim, final round, Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open
It's not often someone has to defeat the top three women on the money list to take a title. Kimmie did it at this event.

Best stretch of holes
Jee Young Lee, back nine, round one, Safeway Classic
This performance by Jee Young Lee announced to the world that there was more than one Korean rookie worth paying attention to in 2006. And I got to see the whole thing live and in person. It started when she decided, after an up and down front nine, to put her driver in the bag for the back nine. Columbia Edgewater Country Club, where this event is played, is a narrow course, and though it is possible to get on a roll and go low, it is also possible to put yourself into a heap of trouble if you are off line with your shots. On the par 5 10th hole, Lee hit a 7 wood off the tee (see Shot of the Year, honorable mention, above). She still nailed the drive 250 yards. She then hit a second fairway wood and reached the green, and two putted for birdie.

But she was just getting started. She overshot the green on the 11th hole, but chipped in for a birdie there, then also birdied the par 5 12th. The par 3 13th hole is a tricky par 3 over water. On this day, Jee Young hit her tee shot to about eight feet, then drained the birdie. She also made birdie on 14. Despite having birdied every hole on the back nine, she was not done yet. The 15th hole is a narrow, tree lined hole; if one hits the fairway, one has a good chance to make par or birdie, but missing the fairway makes life tough. Lee had no trouble here, hitting her approach to a few feet for yet another birdie. She made it seven in a row on 16 when she hit her tee shot to within two feet yet again. By this point she had taken the lead in the tournament, but almost no one was there to witness her extraordinary run.

The 17th hole is one of the hardest on the course. She hit another fairway wood off the tee, striping the drive perfectly down the middle. Her approach was just about perfect, but maybe a foot short of where it needed to be. It then rolled backwards down a slope away from the flag. She was left with a two tier putt for her eighth straight birdie, and even that nearly went in; she wound up with a tap in par. She also just barely missed birdie on 18 and tapped in for par there. In the end, she had seven straight birdies and two near misses on her back nine that day. What a performance!

Honorable Mentions:
Seon Hwa Lee, back nine, final round, ShopRite Classic
See Clutch Performance of the Year for details.

Young Kim, final round, Franklin American Mortgage Classic
Oh, what could have been at this event! Young Kim was well back when she started her final round, but was absolutely on fire on Sunday. With a few holes still to go, she was an incredible nine under par, thanks to one brilliant shot after another. On the par 3 16th, she nearly made a hole in one; her tee shot bounced out of the hole and stopped just a few feet from the flag. But that's where her luck ran out in a big way. She missed the easy birdie, and made par. On 17, she again had a short birdie try, and again missed it. She wound up shooting a 65, the best round of the day, but was literally inches away from a 61 or perhaps an even better score than that.

Trendsetters of the year
Se Ri Pak
Se Ri has been one of the LPGA's top fashionistas for several years, but this season she really was noticed by the press and public for her impeccable fashion sense. GolfWeek Magazine even named her as the most fashionable woman golfer of them all. The LPGA (and this magazine) was flooded with e-mail asking about where one can purchase the outfits Se Ri wears on course. They are actually designed by her sister Yoo Ri, who is a budding fashion designer. The Pak sisters intend to make the outfits available for purchase next year, so stay tuned; when we find out where you can go to buy their stuff, we'll let you know.

Se Ri and Yoo Ri have a great sense of color coordination. They always seem to pick outfits that are simultaneously classy, yet also bold and fashion forward. One accessory that got a lot of comment this year was Se Ri's conductor hat, which she wore (in several different colors!) several times during the season. A bunch of other Korean golfers picked up on the trend and wore a similar hat later in the summer. Also noteworthy are Se Ri's shoes, including most famously her bright silver shoes that she wore at the Evian Masters.

Honorable Mentions:
Seon Hwa Lee, Jeong Jang, "short shorts"
Seon Hwa Lee was the first player to take the idea of short shorts and make them her own. Shortly thereafter, several other Korean golfers also went with this trend, notably JJ, Joo Mi Kim and Shi Hyun Ahn. Some people were not enamored of the look; GolfWeek Magazine called Lee one of the five worst dressed players on the LPGA tour (frankly, a ridiculous assertion even if you don't like the short shorts; the rest of her color sense and style is quite good as well). But most found the look quite attractive and even a little sexy. Not everyone can pull it off, but those who could owned it.

Christina Kim, the bandana
Christina Kim abandoned her trademark berets in 2006 for a new bandana look. Personally, I missed the beret, which had so come to be identified with Christina that they even made a special set of berets just for her for the 2005 Solheim Cup. One suspects that they will not create Solheim bandanas should she make the 2007 squad. Still, she took this look and made it her own.

Soo-Yun Kang and Jin Joo Hong
They did not make a lot of appearances this season; Jin Joo only played two LPGA events, and Soo-Yun struggled most of the season in obscurity. But you simply can't have a list of fashion power players in golf without including Kangsy, and when she did surface, she looked great, as always. And Hong has had a reputation in Korea for several years as one of the best dressers, so Americans can look forward to what she brings to the course in 2007 when she joins the LPGA tour.