2006 Wegman's LPGA: JJ's Day

The LPGA stop in Rochester is one of the longest continually running tournaments on the tour's schedule; 2006 marks its thirtieth year. The event is well supported in the local community. Whereas many LPGA events attract only scant interest from the locals, especially on the weekdays, Rochester's tour stop always generates huge crowds excited to see the best women golfers in the world slug it out for the title.

The last few years, the event has been sandwiched between the second and third Major on tour. As a result, it is usually well attended by the stars of the LPGA, as most of the top players want to get a warm up tournament in to prepare for the US Women's Open.

Korean golfers like the tournament, too, and have supported it well over the years. But a Korean had never won it before, though there have been a few close calls. Se Ri Pak has played well there in the past, notching a few top tens over the years, but she never seems to be quite in contention despite her good finishes. The most successful Korean golfer in Rochester, however, has been Mi Hyun Kim. This tournament was the site of one of her most unfortunate meltdowns. Back in 2002, Kimmie was having arguably the best season of her career. She would go on to win twice that year, but it was the tournament that got away that in some ways was the most memorable. That tournament was the Rochester stop, the Wegman's LPGA. After three rounds, she had carved a nice 5 shot lead out for herself, and seemed destined to hoist the trophy on Sunday afternoon. The only golfer who even registered on her radar was Karrie Webb. The Aussie star was eight shots behind Kimmie with three holes to play on Saturday, but three consecutive birdies on those final three holes had winnowed the lead down to five. Still, it was a tough margin to overcome.

But on Sunday, Mi Hyun kept making mistakes while Webb kept playing well. At one point, Kimmie hit a shot into the woods, then made a strategic blunder when she tried to hit her next shot out towards the green instead of playing it safe and punching out to the fairway. That move cost her some strokes. Still, she had a four shot lead with just five holes to play, and it looked like all would go her way. But she made two more bogies while Webb made two birdies, and they were all tied as they reached the final hole. There Webb made a clutch birdie while Kimmie missed her par save, and for the first time in several days, Kimmie was not the leader of the tournament. It was a crushing defeat for the tiny Kim. But she would return to Rochester again, and would continue to put up good results there, including a tie for second in 2004 (her best finish that year) and a tie for tenth in 2005.

Kimmie would continue her success in Rochester in 2006, but it would be another Korean who would steal the early spotlight and the first round lead. Shi Hyun Ahn, in her third season on tour, had been experiencing a bit of a renaissance of late. After a fantastic 2004 which saw her earn the Rookie of the Year award, she had struggled in 2005, not really making much of an impression on tour. In 2006, she again was contending at tournaments. Indeed, at the previous event on tour, the LPGA Championship, Ahn had been in contention most of the weekend, with a great chance right until the very end to get into a playoff with Karrie Webb and eventual winner Se Ri Pak, or perhaps even beat them outright. Alas, on the final hole she hit her approach into the water and had to settle for a tie for fifth. But since she had also managed a top ten in the first Major, it was clear that Ahn was returning to the form that had made her so promising when she first burst onto the scene by winning the CJ 9 Bridges Classic as a 19 year old (it was that win that had qualified her for the tour in the first place; she was a KLPGA player at the time).

Ahn started the tournament with a bang by shooting a 7 under par 65 to take the first round lead. Starting on the back nine, Shi Hyun made her first birdie on the 12th hole. She then made two more short birdie putts on 16 and 17 to make the turn at 3 under par. She really turned on the jets after that, notching three straight birdies to start her front nine to move into a tie for the lead with American rookie Brittany Lang. She stayed in that position until she chipped in for a birdie on the 8th hole to move to 7 under, her final score.

Lang finished the day all by herself in second at 6 under, while Soo Young Moon finished at 5 under in solo third. Moon had been struggling quite a bit since her playoff loss to Joo Mi Kim in the first event of the year. Her round here marked a nice return to form. Speaking of return to form, Gloria Park shot a 4 under par 68 to sit in solo fourth. Park had been struggling with her game since the start of the year; she had been forced to drop out of the second event of the season because of a death in the family, and had been fairly inconsistent since returning to action. However, her game has been showing signs of life in recent events, and this round got her off to a good start in Rochester. Other Koreans who did well Thursday include Jeong Jang, who shot a 3 under par 69; Joo Mi Kim, Seon Hwa Lee and Young Jo, who all shot 70's; and Christina Kim, Jee Young Lee and Sung Ah Yim, who shot 71's.

Se Ri Pak was coming off her phenomenal victory at the McDonald's LPGA Championship, the year's second Major, two weeks earlier. She did not get out to a very good start here, however, notching a one over par 73 to start her week. As usual, her long game was pretty decent, but her putting was not up to snuff. She sat just one shot above the current cut, so she had some work to do to make sure she made a paycheck this week. Some other Korean players were in far worse situations, including Birdie Kim, who had a very difficult time in round one, unable to keep her drives out of the trees. She even betrayed some frustration, whacking her club against the ground after one botched drive. She shot an 8 over par 80 on this day, not the best way to prepare for her title defense at the US Women's Open, which was coming the following week.

On Friday, Shi Hyun struggled a good deal more than she had on day one. She later revealed that her back had started acting up; the problems would dog her for much of the next few weeks, eventually causing her to drop out of the HSBC Match Play Championship. But for the moment, she was able to deal with her problems and got into the house with a one under par 71, which was good enough for her to maintain her lead over the field.

The Korean who made the biggest move during round two was a familiar one to fans of the LPGA. Seon Hwa Lee had hit the ground running in her very first LPGA event back in February, and rare had been the event where she wasn't a factor since. Three weeks previous to this event she had collected her first victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Atlantic City. And here she was again, shooting a 5 under par 67 in round two to move to seven under total and a tie for second with fellow rookie Brittany Lang. Lee, having shot the better round, would earn the right to play with Ahn in the final group on Saturday. So, like had happened so often in 2006, two Koreans sat atop the leaderboard ready to challenge for the crown.

But by no means were these two ladies the only Koreans who kept themselves in the hunt. Two big stars were lurking just a few shots back. Mi Hyun Kim had been having a great return to form after her worst season in 2005. Two weeks earlier, at the year's second Major, she played superlatively, particularly in the final round, where she gave herself one great birdie chance after another. But despite all her opportunities, she was only able to make a single birdie and seventeen pars. Not good enough to win, but good enough for a tie for third, her best finish in a Major in years. And as mentioned previously, this had always been one of her favorite courses on tour. So it came as no surprise when she shot her own 5 under par 67 to move to a 5 under par total, just three shots out of the lead.

The other star Korean who made her move had also been having a great year: Jeong Jang. Indeed, since winning the Women's British Open in July of 2005, JJ had become one of the most successful women golfers on the planet. From that win to the end of 2005, she had collected 8 top tens in 10 tournaments. She continued that success in 2006 with 6 additional top tens so far in the season. But despite all those great performances, she had not been able to follow up her Major triumphs with any more victories.

Not that she hadn't come close. At the Office Depot in October, she was tied for the lead as the fourth round dragged on. Running out of light, the LPGA decided to conclude play on Monday. But on the final hole of the day, in semi-darkness, JJ made a double bogey and never recovered from the mistake; she wound up finishing 6th. And just a few weeks before the Rochester event, JJ had played in the other event contested in northern New York, the Corning Classic. After three rounds, she had a three shot lead and looked set to at last collect that second win. But the nerves got to her, and after making a big mistake on the par 5 5th hole, hitting a second shot from the trees out of bounds, she fell into a tie for the lead with her pursuers. She was never able to recover her momentum, and her good friend and rival Hee-Won Han wound up winning the title.

But after two rounds here, JJ had once again moved herself into contention. She shot a 69 in round two, and followed that up with a 2 under par 70 to finish at 5 under total, just three shots out of the lead. She had had a chance to get even closer. She was three under going into the final hole, but hit her approach behind a scoreboard. She was barely able to get it out from behind there, but had to settle for a bogey. Still, she was satisfied with her day.