Fairways and Greens

Futures Tour: Hye Jung Choi wins; Koreans 1-2 on money list
As the Futures Tour rolled along in 2006, the next event on tour was the Power of a Dream FUTURES Golf Classic held in Frisco, Texas, from April 21-23. The cast of young 17 year old Korean stars increased even more with the addition of Angela Park, who turned pro following her top 20 finish at the Nabisco Championship at the end of March. She joined In-Bee Park, who missed the first cut of her first event as a professional at the previous Futures tour event in Louisiana, but had then played the LPGA's Takefuji Classic in Las Vegas and collected her first paycheck there by finishing 35th. Yet another 17 year old Korean, Song Hee Kim, had won that Louisiana event, the Louisiana Futures Classic, thus becoming the leading money winner on tour. All three women were present at this event, but none of them would go on to win. Instead, it was yet another Korean up and comer named Hye Jung Choi who walked away with the trophy.

After two rounds, the leaders were Sarah Huarte and Kelly Lagerdrost, who both stood at 5 under. But just behind them at 4 under par were three Korean players: Hye Jung Choi, Yeon Joo Lee and Seul Ki Kim. Angela Park and Song Hee Kim were both tied at 1 under par and were in 15th place; it would take quite a big effort for either of them to claim the cup.

But it was Choi who made the big push. In her second year on the Futures tour, Hye Jung had finished ninth on the money list last year. In the words of another player, she was one of the best players on tour in 2005 who didn't capture a win (although she did finish second twice). On Sunday, however, she made a charge to rectify that situation. On the 10th hole, Choi made birdie, and minutes later, Huarte made a bogey. This gave Choi a two shot lead, and she hung onto this greedily. But Huarte made two more birdies, Choi one more, and crept within one shot. Choi persevered, making a 20 foot birdie putt on the 16th to again pad her lead to two shots.

But with the tournament seemingly in hand, Choi slipped up. On the 18th hole, she lipped out a three foot par save to fall to 7 under par. Huarte would have one more chance to catch Choi moments later, but failed to make birdie on 18, giving the tournament win to the Korean. As mentioned before, it was her first ever tour win, and it catapulted her to 2nd on the money list behind Song Hee Kim, who finished tied for 13th. Angela Park, meanwhile, got her Futures Tour career off to a solid start with a tie for 13th, while In-Bee Park improved from a missed cut in her first event to a tie for 10th here.

At the next Futures Tour event, the Jalapeno FUTURES Golf Classic in McAllen, Texas, the winner was American Kristy McPherson. Notable Korean finishers included Jin Young Pak, who finished second despite amassing a 10 under par total and a closing round 66 (McPherson shot a 65 to hold the young Korean off by one shot after making a birdie on the final hole). Also finishing well were Angela Park, who notched her first tour top ten with a 6th place finish; nonexempt LPGA player Ha Na Chae, who finished 9th; and In-Bee Park and Sunny Oh, who tied for 16th. Song Hee Kim had her first lackluster event of the year, finishing well back in a tie for 32nd. However, she still sits atop the Futures Tour money list, although Big Break's Ashley Prange, by virtue of a third place finish, moved ahead of Hye Jung Choi into second.

Hee Young Park wins KLPGA opener

The Korean LPGA season started at the Phoenix Park Classic, contested April 26 - 28 at Phoenix Park Country Club. This being the first event of the year, there was plenty of anticipation: who would be the early money list leader among the promising young players on tour? Would Bo Bae Song, who had suffered an injury at the Nabisco Championship a few weeks earlier, be rehabilitated and ready to go (she had spent the previous few weeks rehabbing in Orlando under the supervision of David Leadbetter)? Would Hee Young Park, 2005's Rookie of the Year and a dominating presence on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour over the winter, get things off to a good start? What about other promising young players like Hae Jung Kim and Eun-Hee Ji, both of whom also won events on that tour? Then there were the rookies, most prominent of whom was Ji Ae Shin, who was the only amateur to win on the KLPGA in 2005, but was now a promising, long hitting pro. And don't forget press darling Na Yeon Choi, who herself had won a KLPGA event as an amateur, and now entered her second year on tour still trying to catch the more illustrious Hee Young Park.

The KLPGA season is a strange one in that there are a few events early in the year, then a fairly long gap. The majority of the events take place in the Fall. After the Phoenix Park event comes the Korean Women's Open, arguably the most important event all year; it takes place in mid-May. It's followed by the Lakeside Women's Open the next week, but then there is a three month sabbatical before action again picks up in August. The most notable absence from this year's schedule is the X-CANVAS event, which was won last year by Juli Inkster but which also featured a number of other LPGA stars. It's a pity that the financing seems to have fallen through for this event, as it had quickly established itself as one of the premier events on tour, with past winners including Se Ri Pak and Shi Hyun Ahn.

Anyway, back to Phoenix Park. The round one leader was Sang Hee Kim, a fourth year player looking for her elusive first win. She shot a 4 under par 68 consisting of five birdies against a single bogey. But just one shot back was a gaggle of top KLPGA players, including Hee Young Park, Ji Ae Shin, Hae Jung Kim Hyun Hee Moon, Eun Hee Ji, and Jin Joo Hong, who shocked the world by beating Soo-Yun Kang in 2005 for the coveted award of 'Best Dresser' on tour. OK, maybe not so coveted, but the result was still surprising! Another surprising result was Bo Bae Song's. The two time KLPGA Player of the Year was apparently still struggling with her injuries and shot a one over par 73 that left her with some work to do.

Sang Hee Kim's moment in the sun did not last. In round two she shot a 78 that plummeted her all the way to 2 over par and a tie for 21st. She would not be a factor again. Hee Young Park, meanwhile, took charge, shooting a 5 under par 67 that consisted of 6 birdies and one lone bogey. She credited her improved play on this day to her putting. Hyun Hee Moon moved into second following a 69, while rookie Ji Ae Shin was third at 5 under. Hae Jung Kim was fourth at 4 under, and tied for 6th at 2 under was Eun Hee Ji. This was a veritable all-star leaderboard chasing Park for the title. Meanwhile, Bo Bae Song really struggled, shooting a 78 that knocked her all the way to 48th. It seems as though this young player has a bit of recuperating yet to do.

In the final round, Hee Young went out in 34, and had things well under control. She made a few mistakes coming back, shooting 37, but her one under 71 was still enough for her to claim the title of the first event of the new season with a nine under par total. Congratulations to her! Hae Jung Kim finished second at 7 under, with Ji Ae Shin third at 6 under, a solid start to her rookie campaign.

So with this win, Hee Young Park makes an early statement that she may be the player to beat for Player of the Year in 2006. Stay tuned throughout the season to see if anyone can challenge her!

Results:
1. Hee Young Park [68-67-71] -9
2. Hae Jung Kim [69-71-69] -7
3. Ji Ae Shin [69-70-71] -6
-- Jung Eun Lee [70-72-68] -6
5. Hyun Hee Moon [69-69-74] -4
6. Na Yeon Choi [71-75-67] -3
------------------------------------
13. Hong Ran [72-72-73] +1
13. Seon Joo Ahn [69-72-76] +1
31. Bo Bae Song [73-77-71] +5
--- Ga Na Lee [74-75-72] +5

Jeong Jang Racking Up Endorsements
Last month, we showcased a photo of Jeong Jang with a SeoulSisters.com button during this year's first Major, the Kraft-Nabisco Championship. Well, JJ is not being sponsored by this humble magazine (though we appreciate her wearing the button nonetheless!), but in the last few weeks, the most decorated Korean golfer without an endorsement has managed to rectify that problem with not one but several nice sponsorship deals. Back at the beginning of the year, she signed with Sterling Sports Management, a firm based out of Columbus, Ohio. Almost immediately, the deals started rolling in. First up, they signed deals with Cobra for JJ to use their equipment, FootJoy for shoes, and Titleist for balls. Although the terms of the deals were not disclosed, JJ's agent Jeff Chilcoat admitted that they were not as high as some of the other deals he had negotiated with these companies for golfers in years past. But it was a start.

Chilcoat also represents the Song sisters Aree and Naree. One of the firm's Vice President's, a Korean named J.S. Kang, was the person who saw a possible niche for the agency in taking on Korean golfers as clients. He felt that Korean women golfers, who were quite popular in their native land, had unexploited opportunities for sponsorships in North America. Hence the Jang signing.

Jeong Jang Cobra Golf Homepage

The big news came a few weeks ago. Jeong Jang has signed a multi-year deal with IBK, the Industrial Bank of Korea, for them to be her primary sponsor. You may have noticed the IBK logo on her clothes in recent tournaments. Apparently there will be an official announcement of this deal when Jang returns home to Korea for a brief visit on May 5th. If so, I'll have all the details in the next issue of this magazine!

Christina Kim and SeoulSisters.com button
SeoulSisters superfan Bob (you've seen some of his candid photos of the Sisters in past issues of this magazine) attended the Takefuji Classic this year and had a great time. You may recall that he gave a SeoulSisters.com button to Jeong Jang to wear, and she actually did wear it during a tournament. At the Takefuji, he offered one to Christina, who jumped at the chance to wear one (check out the photo at right if you doubt me!). He also managed to get another picture of his son with Shi Hyun Ahn. That's one lucky kid!

The big question now is, where will the SeoulSisters.com button turn up next? And who will be wearing it?

Magazine Watch
Hee-Won Han gets a brief mention in this month's Golf For Women Magazine. They call her 'one to watch', talk about her great talent, and even discuss how her marriage to professional baseball player Son Hyuk made them one of the most glamorous power couples in her home country. Always nice when the Sisters get a little ink on this side of the pond!

(The photo at left shows Hee-Won and Sonny training for her season back in January. I think he's cheating a bit by riding that bicycle!).

Money List
The last three weeks have seen two more victories by Korean ladies on the LPGA, bringing their total for 2006 to 4 wins in 8 tournaments. Sung Ah Yim shocked everyone by defeating Annika Sorenstam head to head at the Florida's Natural Championship, while Mi Hyun Kim ended a drought of nearly four years in capturing the big money Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open. That tournament also bestowed a lot of cash on Christina Kim, Hee-Won Han and Se Ri Pak, who all finished in the top ten there.Se Ri leapt 38 spots this period, the biggest jump of them all, despite missing one cut and dropping out of a second tournament during that span.

Kimmie also earned a top five finish at the Takefuji Classic, giving her more than $400,000 earned during the last month. This is the largest single gain, cashwise, by anyone all year on our list.

Meanwhile, Seon Hwa Lee has continued to chug along with more solid finishes, including a second place at the Takefuji, her third of the year. Kyeong Bae notched her first top 20 of the year, and Jee Young Lee has also flirted with a top ten a couple times. Even Sun Young Yoo made a couple cuts to earn her first paychecks of the year.