2006 Wegman's LPGA: JJ's Day

A few moments later, Jang played the par 5 11th. She had only 222 yards to the front after her drive, but hit a low squirter that ran along the ground for her second. Still, she got the ball pretty close to the green, and her 3rd shot pitch landed about ten feet away. She had a great chance to regain a tie for the lead, but her birdie try lipped out, leaving her a tap in par. Lang still had the advantage.

By now another player was putting some pressure on from behind. Rookie Julieta Granada had climbed to 11 under, just one shot behind JJ. Jang was not playing her best at the moment, either. On 12, her approach wound up in some rough, and she left her chip just far enough from the hole to make it interesting. Fortunately for her, she made that par and remained at 12 under. Meanwhile, Lang was struggling once again with her driver, just as she had the two previous days. On 13, she hit her drive well left behind some trees. This time she had no play for the green, so she chipped out into the fairway, then hit her third shot to within 6 feet of the flag. But she did not make the par, and fell to 12 under. JJ was again in a tie for the lead. When JJ and Kimmie played the hole a few minutes later, Jang hit a nice approach that tracked back towards the hole. She was able to bury the 6 foot birdie try to move to 13 under. She now had the lead all by herself, just as she had at the start of the day.

On hole 14, Lang once again hit her drive into the trees, this time, to be different, on the right side. Once again, she did not get away with it, and had to chip out into the fairway. She would end up bogeying this hole as well to fall to 11 under; she looked quite shaken afterwards, as if she were trying to collect herself before she made any more mistakes.

A few moments later, Kimmie had a most interesting time on this very hole. She hit her drive into the rough, one of the few times she had missed the fairway on this day. She had a fairly bad lie, but hit a wonderful second that flew a water hazard, bounced through the fringe and rolled up to within just a few feet. She made the birdie, and the commentators praised her for the heroic effort of getting a birdie after that tough break. JJ was not able to make a birdie here, though, and remained two shots in the lead over Granada and Lang. Kimmie, now at 10 under, was three back.

Moments later, Marcy Hart birdied the 16th to move to 11 under as well. On the 15th, JJ put her tee shot into the greenside bunker, short siding herself. Her sand shot was not particularly good, going well past the flag, and she was not able to save par from there. So now she had just a one shot lead over several players. She still had the upper hand, but the pressure was on.

On the 18th hole, Granada hit a perfect drive, then an even better iron to just a couple feet. This was not an easy hole, and had not yielded many birdies, but she made one to move to 12 under. She now sat and waited to see if there would be a playoff, or if JJ (or someone else) would knock her out. Meanwhile, JJ hit her approach on 16 into the fringe. She left her chip about 5 feet short, and now had a dicey par save to remain in a tie for the lead with Granada. But she made it, and gave a vigorous fist pump afterwards. She had no intention of rolling over like she had done at the Corning. This was going to be a fight to the finish!

And it was going to get even tighter, for moments later, Hart made a birdie on the par 5 17th to also move to 12 under. There were now three women tied for the lead. Hart did not put her approach on the 18th close, but she was certainly close enough for a two putt. Her first putt missed by a couple of feet, but then she missed the short par save, making bogey on the last hole. Thus she fell to 11 under and was eliminated. How quickly one's fortunes can change in golf!

Lang was playing the par 5 17th, but she could do no better than par. She was still at 11 under, and would need a birdie on the last to even get into the equation. If JJ made a birdie on this hole, she would probably win the title. But JJ was not having an easy time playing the hole. She had put her drive into the rough and a terrible lie. She punched her second shot down the fairway, but ended up in more rough on the other side. She then hit her third, a pitch from roughly 100 yards that arced gracefully into the air, hitting the flag lightly on its way down and bouncing just two feet from the hole. A spectacular shot, and at just the right time! She easily made the birdie from there and moved into the lead. Now, all she needed was par to claim the championship. Her approach on 18 landed in the fringe, but she hit her birdie putt to within inches for the tap in par and the win. At last, after all the great golf and the close calls, Jeong Jang had her second LPGA victory in hand!

As she soaked in the applause and hugged her caddie vigorously, a tall man ran out onto the green and soaked her with champagne. After that, JJ hugged Kimmie, who was a little grossed out by the champagne she got all over herself as a result. Although Kimmie had not won, her ten under total had given her yet another great finish, a 5th. So she probably wasn't feeling too bad. But the question that remained unanswered was, who was the guy who had doused JJ with champagne? Even long time Seoul Sister watchers had no idea.

Afterwards, Jang went into the booth where the tournament broadcasts a webcast during the event and talked to the commentators there. When they asked her if the man who had soaked her was her brother, she replied in the affirmative. But later, during her press conference, she was asked who he was, and she replied that it was her boyfriend. She said his name was Jun Sik Lee, and that he was just here visiting her for a few weeks. The Korean press was eager to find out more about this heretofore unknown significant other of one of their top sports stars. Turn out he is a professional golfer hoping to make it on tour in Korea. Best of luck to him; he'll doubtless be able to gain some valuable tips from the Little Giant Jeong Jang!