The Quiet Korean

As it turned out, the weather looked like it was going to become nasty again late on Sunday, so the event organizers decided to cut the tournament to 54 holes. They sent the ladies out extra early in the hopes they could finish before the conditions got too rough. But with the wind and the wetness, the course still was playing tough. It would be a battle to survive the event this year.

Gloria Park, who had not had a lead going into Sunday for years, quickly stumbled. She bogied the 4th and 6th holes, but reached her Waterloo on the 8th hole with a double bogey there. That left her at 4 over par for the day. Although she would play better after that, she was never again a threat to win. Still, she rallied to play even par for the remaining holes, and wound up in a tie for 6th, by far her best result of the season. It might not have been what she was looking for, but it was still definitely a step in the right direction.

Hee-Won made an early run with three straight birdies starting on the 4th hole. This got her to 4 under and a share of the lead. But she gave it back with a bogey on 7 and her own double bogey on 8 to fall all the way back to 1 under. Although temporarily down, she was far from out.

The player who most surprised on this day was little known American Allison Hanna. Hanna had been lurking on the leaderboard, but early birdies allowed her to move to 5 under par and the solo lead. Right on her heels, though, were several Korean stars and Annika Sorenstam. Sorenstam had a birdie and a bogey through 8 holes, and sat at 3 under, just two shots behind Hanna. But then she reached the devious 9th hole. As usual, she hit a perfect drive, then punched her iron up to the flag. Not so fast! Her approach rolled back off the green and down the hill, much as Gloria's had done in the second round. No worries, right? She pitched up to the green, but the same thing happened again. A little flustered, she gave it another shot. And the same thing happened again! And again!! Finally on her fifth try, she was able to get the ball to stay up there, but she wound up with a triple bogey on the hole that blew her right out of the tournament. She never again got close enough to make a difference. For the second time in a row, Sorenstam had played in a final group and collapsed when she usually turns on the gas. A very surprising turn of events indeed!

Meanwhile, Hanna continued to exceed expectations, making one lengthy par saving putt after another. But while that was going on, several players were positioning themselves to make a run at her. One of those players was rookie Kyeong Bae. Bae has had a pretty good start to her first season on tour, but her fellow Korean rookie and CJ sponsoree Seon Hwa Lee has overshadowed her. While Lee has managed three runner up finishes already in 2006, Bae was still looking for the first top ten of her career. But on this day, Lee, who started Sunday with a three shot advantage over Bae, was struggling, while Kyeong was on fire. Bae had reached 2 under par by the time coverage started, an impressive four under total for the day. At that point, Lee was only at 1 under, and would fall further behind as the day progressed. She would go on to miss a top ten, albeit not by much; another solid finish for the woman leading the Rookie of the Year race this season.

Meanwhile, Bae reached the treacherous 16th hole. Her tee shot settled down about ten feet from the hole, a pretty great result considering. She two putted for par and kept her chances alive.

A few holes back, Lorena Ochoa made a birdie on the 11th hole to move to 2 under. Hee-Won Han then made a birdie of her own of about 25 feet on the 12th hole to move to 1 under. At one point, Hee-Won had been at 4 under par, then fell all the way back to even. Now she was clawing her way back again. But was it too late to challenge Hanna? On the 12th hole, Hanna made a big mistake, driving into the trees and landing on the cart path. She took a free drop from there, but then made an ill advised play through the trees instead of doing the safe thing and punching out. Miraculously, she threaded the ball through the branches, and wound up only making bogey on the hole. She thus fell to 4 under, but still had a two shot lead.

On 17, Bae had a dicey chip from deep rough for her third shot. No problemo. She hit a masterful chip from there to within a foot of the flag for an easy par save. She then hit two nice shots on the 18th hole, then hit a pitch just off the green for her third. She was close to the flag but putting it from the fringe. If she wanted to win, she pretty much had to make the birdie, then hope the other players contending would come back to her. Lo and behold, she did make the putt. She thus finished with a 5 under par 66, tied for her best round on the LPGA and tied for the best round of the week. She now sat in the clubhouse at 3 under, and could only wait to see if that would be good enough.

Meanwhile, Hee-Won, playing with Ochoa on the par 3 13th, hit a marvelous tee shot to a few feet, then dunked the birdie to move to 2 under par. She came within inches of making a birdie putt on 14 as well, but settled for the par. Ochoa had made back to back birdies on 11 and 12 to move to 3 under, so both women were definitely putting the heat on Hanna. But Hanna still had the lead at 4 under. Then Ochoa and Han reached the par 5 15th. Ochoa's drive was all right, not her best. Her second shot flew the green and ended up in the fringe. Han, meanwhile, hit a great drive here, and nailed her 2nd shot, a 196 yarder straight uphill, onto the green, perhaps at most 15 feet from the flag. She had a great chance at eagle. Ochoa hit her eagle try well past the flag. Han now had a golden chance to leap into the fray: if she made eagle, she would leap into a tie for the lead. But she just missed her putt and tapped in for birdie. Moments later, Ochoa made her 5 foot birdie to move to 4 under while Hee-Won moved to 3 under. The advantage still belonged to the Mexican star.

Hanna continued to hang in there, making another 5 foot par save on 14. On the 16th hole, Hee-Won hit a great tee shot that rolled back to within maybe 8 feet. She was in perfect position to make birdie. Ochoa's tee shot was closer, but she had a slick downhill putt with tons of break, much harder than Han's. But Hee-Won's birdie came up a roll short, and she again tapped in, this time for par. Ochoa negotiated the delicate two putt as well, and maintained her one stroke advantage over Han.

But all the action on 16 might soon end up beside the point, for Hanna reached the par 5 15th in two and had a 40 foot eagle putt. An eagle by the young American could go a long way towards securing the win for her. But she didn't hit the putt well, leaving it six feet away. She then missed that putt, and the par save as well. Hanna went from having an eagle opportunity to four putting the green for bogey. She fell to 3 under par, and now Ochoa had the lead, with Han, Bae and Hanna tied for second.

Hee-Won had a little trouble off the tee on 17. Although her drive was in the fairway, she put it behind a tree. But she hit a superlative low shot from there, scooting under the tree and onto the green. From there she made par easily. Ochoa, meanwhile, gave herself a good birdie chance, but missed it and also made par. She still had her one shot lead. Back on 16, Gloria chipped in for birdie, just about the only way to make birdie on this hole! Hanna left her tee shot quite close to the flag. But she hit a lackluster birdie try, then left her par save on the lip. Yet another bogey knocked her down to 2 under par, and effectively out of the running. So now it all came down to what Hee-Won might be able to do on the par 5 18th hole.

She hit a great drive, but was too far away to reach the green in two. Fortunately, she hit a great lay up and left herself an ideal pitch shot for her third. Ochoa's drive was not so good, landing in the rough, and her second also ended up in the rough. But luck was on her side: the lie was quite good, and she was able to put her third close. This pretty much closed the door on Han. Hee-Won's third was not that great, and she was not able to make birdie, while Ochoa did to wrap up her second win of the season and to again claim the top spot on the money list.

Hee-Won may not have won, but she did nab her second runner-up finish of the year. And that was good enough to move her into 6th place on the money list, ahead of Annika Sorenstam among others. Han may still not be that well known in America, but she has definitely continued to show over the years that she is one of the most consistent and talented women golfers in the world. It looks likely we will be seeing a lot more of Hee-Won contending this year. Perhaps next time it will be her turn to raise a trophy in victory!