KLPGA Update

The next event on tour, from May 2nd - 4th, was the Phoenix Park Classic. The defending champion was Hee Young Park (pictured), and she was hoping to get off to a good start so she could challenge Ahn and Shin for top spot in the league. She didn't do badly: she shot a 4 under par 68 that found her sitting in a tie for third by the end of the day. Ji Yai Shin had a relatively decent first round (considering how poor her first rounds had been in the first two events of the year), a 2 under 70, which left her in 13th. But one player absolutely romped on this day and set a standard that was going to be tough to match. Eun Hee Ji shot an 8 under par 64 which consisted of nine birdies and a single bogey, to take a three shot lead over second place Min Ji Han. Ji's round was the lowest score on the KLPGA tour since Jeon Mi Jung shot a 64 in the first round of the Hi-Mart Invitational in October of 2003.

Ji had four straight birdies from holes 5 through 8, and three more in a row from 13 - 15. It was a truly dominating performance, and had the rest of the field scrambling to see if they could catch her.

But Ji was not about to let up: in round two, she continued to run roughshod over the field. She shot a 4 under par 68, consisting of 5 birdies and one bogey. This was again the lowest score of the day, and she wound up at 12 under total with a seven shot lead. Clearly aware of Shin's seven shot comeback at the last tournament, Ji was obviously taking no chances! Defending Champ Hee Young Park had a good round, finishing with a 69 on day two to move to 5 under and a tie for second. Ji Yai Shin and Na Yeon Choi were tied for 4th at 4 under. So the leaderboard was an impressive one, but everyone was looking far up at Ji.

The final round of this event looked like it was going to be a walk in the park for Eun Hee Ji, still looking for her first win on tour. But the top two KLPGA players made furious charges at her, and the outcome became less and less clear as the day wore on. Both Ji Yai Shin and Hee Young Park were 4 under par on their first nine holes, while Ji was one under, so after finishing nine holes, she stood at 13 under, Park at 9 under and Shin at 8 under. Shin made another birdie soon, and for several more holes, Ji had a four shot lead over the two.

In the end, Shin finished with a 67, a great round, and alone in third. Another fabulous result for Shin. With four holes to go, though, Ji still had a four shot lead over her and Park. But then Ji bogied 15, and Park parred. The lead was now three. Hee Young birdied 16 to cut the lead again to 2, then birdied 17 as well. With one hole to go, Ji's lead had shrunk to one shot! But both ladies ended up making par on the final hole, and Eun Hee Ji squeezed out the win, with Hee Young's consolation being the 66, the best score of the day, and a great defense of her title. Fantastic tournament, great leaderboard, and congratulations to Eun Hee Ji for her wire to wire win, her first KLPGA crown.

Scores:
1 Eun Hee Ji 64(1) 68(1) 72(17) 35/37 204 -12
2 Hee Young Park 68(3) 71(9) 66(1) 32/34 205 -11
3 Ji Yai Shin 70(13) 70(4) 67(2) 32/35 207 -9
4 Na Yeon Choi 69(6) 71(9) 69(5) 35/34 209 -7
5 Min Son Kim 70(13) 73(19) 68(3) 34/34 211 -5
6 Eun Jin Kim 68(3) 74(29) 70(6) 34/36 212 -4
7 So Young Kim 2 69(6) 73(19) 71(11) 36/35 213 -3

Notables
8 Ha Neul Kim 71(20) 71(9) 72(17) 34/38 214 -2
8 Bo Bae Pak 70(13) 69(2) 75(36) 39/36 214 -2
16 Honey Moon 73(43) 73(19) 71(11) 34/37 217 1
21 Sun Joo Ahn 69(6) 75(42) 74(27) 35/39 218 2
27 Eun Ah Lim 71(20) 75(42) 73(24) 38/35 219 3
32 Hae Jung Kim 68(3) 73(19) 79(63) 35/44 220 4
41 Ran Hong 71(20) 76(63) 75(36) 41/34 222 6
46 Sunny Lee 72(29) 76(63) 75(36) 39/36 223 7
65 Woo Ri Choi 71(20) 77(74) 81(65) 40/41 229 13