2006 Weetabix Women's British Open

On Saturday, Korean golf fans were finally treated to some magic from the Seoul Sisters. Unfortunately, the players who played the best were all well out of the tournament, while those who played the worst were the ones who still had a chance to win. So by the end of the day, it became clear that no Korean golfer would hoist the trophy for this event in 2006. In fact, the question now became, could a Korean even make a top ten? Or would this be the first event all year where no Korean managed that feat?

At the top of the leaderboard, Juli Inkster's troubles with her long game finally got the best of her, and she stumbled to a 2 over par 74. This allowed several players to overtake her, including Lorena Ochoa, who ripped off a blistering 65 to move to 4 under total. But the player who really took advantage of Inkster's woes was Sherri Steinhauer. Steinhauer has won this event twice in the past, but both times were before it had become a Major. On this day she compiled a 6 under par 66 that positioned her at 7 under total, three shots clear of Ochoa. If she were to go on and win, she would become one of the oldest players, at 43, to ever win a Major.

By this point, only two Koreans were under par. One of them was Christina Kim, who shot a solid one under par round on Saturday. By and large, she kept herself out of trouble, making only two bogies on the day compared with three birdies. But she was still six shots out of the lead, and a win seemed like only a remote possibility. Young-A Yang was the other Korean under par, also at one under.

The good news came from the Koreans back in the pack who made a move. Jeong Jang had barely made the cut at 7 over par. It had been a rough defense of her title. But on this day she produced a stellar four under par 68. Indeed, she had four birdies before she made her first bogey on the 11th hole. She wound up with six birdies and two bogies on the day, and had moved to 3 over for the tournament. Also at three over was Joo Mi Kim, who had shot her third straight 73. Shi Hyun Ahn was another mover, shooting a 69 to rise to 1 over for the tournament, a tie for 21st. Jee Young Lee continued her excellent rookie year by shooting her own 69 to move to 2 over. Hee-Won Han also shot a 69 to follow her 71 from Friday. If she had only shot better than 80 on the first day, she might have been in contention. On the downside, Il Mi Chung fell back with a 75 and would not contend again.

On Sunday, the Korean ladies made their play to get a top ten, but only two played well enough to set themselves up for it. The first was Hee-Won Han. Han produced a third straight under par score, this time a 70, to move to 2 over total. For much of the day, that total hovered around 10th place, but it was not until almost the end of the day that it was confirmed, in fact, to be 10th. In her final three rounds she was six under par. Hee-Won collected her second ever top ten in a Major, and her second in 2006 (the Nabisco was where she made her first top ten, a 6th place). Joo Mi Kim also finished at 2 over after shooting a 71 to break her string of 73s that she had going for the first three rounds.

And that was it for top tens, although several other Koreans managed decent finishes. Kyeong Bae and Jee Young Lee both finished tied for 22nd. For Lee, this was her third straight top 25 finish in a Major, following her 14th at the LPGA Championship and her 10th at the US Women's Open. Shi Hyun Ahn shot a disappointing 76 to fall to 5 over, still 25th place. Il Mi Chung got a top twenty following a final round 73. But Christina Kim, who looked poised to get a top ten, had a dismal outing on day four. She wound up with an 11 over par 83. Most of the damage occurred on the front nine. She started her day with a triple bogey 6 and made back to back bogies on 3 and four. On 6, she made another bogey, then eagled the par 5 7th, then followed that with a double bogey on 8 and a quintuple bogey 8 on the par 3 9th. All in all, she was a punishing 11 over par on her front nine, despite the eagle. Fortunately she dusted herself off and went even par on the back nine, but she dropped all the way from a possible top ten to a tie for 45th thanks to her troubles.

And of course there was Amy Yang, who with her 60th place finish became the low amateur of the event, winning the historic Smyth Salver (check this) trophy by beating the next best amateur, Belen Mozo of Spain, by 6 shots. Her trip to Europe had been well worth the effort.

Jeong Jang was not able, in the end, to make a great defense of her title. Her final round 75 knocked her back to 6 over par and a tie for 26th with Young-A Yang and Michelle Wie, who notched her worst finish in any women's tournament since turning pro. But though it was a disappointment for JJ, she still came through the week with pluck, giving it her best shot. And though it was a bit of a letdown to see the Koreans play so badly at this final Major of the year, one can only hope that they will work on their links golf before the 2007 British Women's Open. For that event will be held, for the first time, at St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf. Hopefully we can all look forward to the Korean women, the strongest force in women's golf in the new millennium, shining on the oldest course in the game.