The Quiet Korean

In round 2, alas for the Korean contingent, Webb continued her great play, following up her 66 with a 3 under par 68. She now sat at 8 under par. In second was Cristie Kerr, who had just won an event the week before. Pat Hurst was third at 6 under, and Juli Inkster, another Hall of Famer who had won in 2006, was 4th at 5 under.

The Koreans who were in the best place to make a move after two days were also two of the most consistent Koreans of the past couple of years. Jeong Jang and Hee-Won Han ended the day tied for 5th at 4 under par. Hee-Won had started the event with a first round even par 71, but showed her knack for picking her game up from one round to the next by following that up with a second round 67. JJ followed up her first round 68 with a 70. They had some ground to make up on the leaders, but it was far from an impossible task.

Several other Koreans were still in the mix at 3 under, including 2006 winners Joo Mi Kim and Meena Lee. Shi Hyun Ahn, who had been having a solid comeback season so far, continued that by also putting herself at 3 under at the halfway point. Among those at 2 under was rookie Sun Young Yoo. The 19 year old had had a tough time of it in the 2006 season, missing the first five cuts of her rookie year before making three straight, finishing in the 50th-60th place range. But after two rounds at the Michelob, she found herself in the far more enjoyable position of being in tied for 13th. Would she be able to take advantage of the huge money event by making a big paycheck?

One player who was trying the best to do just that was Grace Park. After a two over par first round, Grace rebounded with a 67 to move herself to -2. 2006 had been hard on the former world's number two golfer. She had yet to make a top ten, let alone contend for a tournament. But here was a chance for Grace to make up for that at a course that had produced a lot of great results for her. Se Ri, meanwhile, had another double digit fairway and green day, but once again struggled to take advantage on the greens. Still, her one over par 72 would prove sufficient to allow her to make the cut. Now the question was whether she could parlay that into a second great finish in a row.

It would be great to report that the Korean golfers made a run for the title on the weekend, but the fact was that Karrie Webb continued her sterling play on Saturday, establishing a five shot lead by the end of the day that all but wrapped up the title for her. Indeed, she had little trouble claiming her second win of the year on Sunday. The real drama, then, came in the battle for second. At this event, even a second place finish paid more than many events gave for a win. Not surprisingly, two of the three players who were tied for second at the end of the day were golfers who had been ripping up the tour all year: the aforementioned Cristie Kerr and Lorena Ochoa. The third golfer was Pat Hurst. All three were tied at 8 under par. Hee-Won, however, showed that she was more than ready to challenge for the big money on Sunday. She shot a 2 under par 69 to move to 6 under par and put herself within range. JJ shot a 70 to get to 5 under par. Jimin Kang and Sun Young Yoo both sat at 3 under par in a tie for 11th.

Meanwhile, Mi Hyun Kim, another Korean who had been having a comeback year, quietly moved herself into position for a top ten. Kimmie had finished in the top ten in all three previous Michelob Ultra Opens. After Saturday's action her total score was 2 under par, just two shots out of the top ten. She shot a 2 under par 69 to get to that point. Another Korean star who did the same thing was Se Ri Pak. Although she hit only 9 fairways this day, she had her best round of the week, and only her second round in the 60's all year. This moved her to 1 over par, into a tie for 27th. Grace Park did not fare as well; she shot a 76 on day three, effectively negating all the ground she had made up with her great Friday round. She would go on to finish in 51st place.

With Webb walking away with the prize, the rest of the prize money came down to a battle between some of the top players in the game. The Koreans did remarkably well in the bargain, with six of them grabbing top tens by the end of the day. Three of those ladies finished in a tie for tenth. First there was Joo Mi Kim, who had not notched a top ten since her win in the first event of the year (though she had come close once or twice). She finished her week with a one over par round but still hung on for the top ten. Jee Young Lee was the second one; for her, it was her first top ten of the year. The third was Shi Hyun Ahn. Both Ahn and Lee absolutely blistered the course on this day, shooting identical 4 under par 67's to wind up tied when all was said and done.

Se Ri Pak played well, but in the end could muster no better than a tie for 25th. Still, it was her second best finish of the year, and was better than any finish she had had in 2005. Further, there was much to be happy about for her: in the end she hit over 70% of her fairways for the first time in ages. If she continues her accurate ways, it must surely only be a matter of time before the rest of her game reaches its former heights.

Mi Hyun Kim, another golfer on the recovery trail, kept her perfect record at this event alive by shooting a 69 to finish at 5 under par total and a tie for 7th. It marked her fourth straight top ten in the tournament. JJ wound up tied with Kimmie after a one over par 72 to end her week.

That left Hee-Won Han. At the start of the day she had an off chance of catching Webb, but it quickly became clear that no one was going to do that (although Webb made a few mistakes that might have cost her big, she managed to wiggle out of them to avoid the meltdown the rest of the field needed to have a chance). But though Hee-Won was not able to get to the 8 under par total that the second place golfers had, she didn't need to. She shot a steady, dependable 1 under par 70, then watched as Ochoa, Hurst and Kerr all went over par on their rounds. Thus, by the end of the day, Hee-Won had moved into a tie for second. It was her third straight top five, and first runner up finish of the year. It was good enough to move her into the top ten on the money list. And it gave her great momentum going into the next event, the Sybase Classic, an event where she had one win and one second place finish in the last few years. Could the quiet star grab her second red jacket at the long-standing event?