2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship

Shi Hyun Ahn had better luck. She managed to go even par on the front nine, but hit a roller coaster starting on hole eight. On the next eight holes she went birdie, birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey, bogey, double bogey, birdie. She wound up at one under par for the tournament, good for an eighth place finish.

Doing much better was Hee-Won Han. After her great Saturday 68 to get herself back into the top ten, she played a smooth round on Sunday, shooting a 71 to move to 2 under for the event and a 6th place finish. At last, she had her first ever top ten in a Major! Next time, expect her to contend!

The event itself had one of the most dramatic finishes in history. Ochoa had led pretty much the whole week, but was not playing well on Sunday. Michelle Wie slowly chipped away at Ochoa's lead throughout the day. Finally, both Wie and Natalie Gulbis moved ahead of Ochoa. Meanwhile, Karrie Webb, playing in Hee-Won's group, was having a great round, and had also moved to 7 under and a tie for the lead. After a bad drive on 18, Webb laid up, then hit her third shot, which found the bottom of the cup for an eagle!! An eagle on the 72nd hole of a Major is one of the rarest birds (no pun intended!). Webb was as excited as she has ever been, vigorously pumping her fist and even hugging Hee-Won in joy. The gallery was going crazy. No doubt that Ochoa and Wie heard the commotion from where they were. Just like that, Webb moved to 9 under, although Wie moved to 8 under shortly thereafter with a brilliant approach to about a foot.

So it came down to the final hole. Wie or Gulbis needed a birdie to tie; Ochoa needed an eagle. Ochoa hit her second shot to within about four feet, a truly majestic shot at just the right time. Wie flew the green with her second, while Gulbis had to lay up and hit her third to birdie range. Wie's chip was not close to the hole, though, and so she needed to hit a longish putt for birdie to tie. She just missed, and wound up finishing third. Gulbis also missed her birdie, but Ochoa made her eagle to force a playoff. However, it was all for naught, as Webb won the playoff and her seventh Major a few minutes later.

For Michelle Wie, it was her third top five in a Major in the past four events, and her first as a professional. If she keeps knocking on the door, she is bound to charge through sometime. But congratulations also to Hee-Won and Shi Hyun, and here's hoping that Seon Hwa won't be too haunted by what might have been. She has a great career ahead of her, if her first five events are any indication. She needs to keep her head held high and remember - there are still three more Majors this year! And the Koreans have a much better record at those Majors than at the Nabisco!