2007 Women's World Cup

Unfortunately, Paraguay just wouldn't make a mistake, and though the Koreans were able to narrow the lead a little at times, they were never able to get close enough to make it a contest. The format on the final day was to take the better score the two players achieved on the hole and count that as the team's score.

The match turned into a battle for second between Korea, Italy and the US. Korea caught Italy at one under total on the 13th hole when Young Kim made a 30 foot birdie; it was good timing, because Shin was really struggling on the hole. On 15, Kim continued her brilliance with a fantastic approach to a few feet for another birdie to move to 2 under, all by themselves in second. They moved to 3 under when Shin drained a fifteen foot birdie putt on the next hole after that.

With just two holes to go and a two shot lead over the US for second place, things were looking good, but then they made a real hash out of the 17th hole. Shin hit her tee shot out of bounds, while Kim hit hers into the hazard, but onto dry land. She had a shot out of there, and needed to be conservative, but inexplicably decided to hit a fairway wood from there, thinking she might reach the green. Instead she barely moved the ball at all. Her next shot wound up in a greenside bunker, so just to be safe, Shin went back to the tee to hit her shots. As it turned out, both players made a double bogey on the hole, costing Korea two shots. The US caught them at that point, but Italy had faded. So the second place finish all depended on who could do better on 18.

On this par five, Kim, Hurst and Inkster all reached the green in two. But Kim hit her eagle try well past the flag, and two putted from there for par. Inkster made birdie, and thus the US moved ahead of Korea on the last hole. South Korea finished solo third. Although the finish was a disappointment, Korea still played wonderfully, missing out on a second place finish only because of the two stroke penalty on day one. So they had every reason to be proud of themselves. And indeed, Kim and Shin were still smiling and hugging each other when the tournament was over. They were thrilled to have had a chance to represent their home country at the World Cup, and hoped they would have a chance to do it again. Congratulations to South Korea, and better luck in 2008!