2007 Ginn Tribute

Angela got off to a great start in round three, birdieing her first three holes to move to 9 under and a tie for the lead with Ochoa. But the good luck was not to last. Ochoa soon reasserted control, while Park stumbled. In the end, Angela managed a 1 under par 71 to move to 7 under, good for a tie for third. Ochoa, meanwhile, continued to shine. After a first hole bogey, she had three more birdies and an eagle on the front nine to move to 13 under par. Another birdie on 12 and she sat at 14 under, a six shot lead over the field. Once again, it looked like an easy time for Ochoa. After that, however, she struggled, making three bogies in the final holes to fall back to 11 under. That still was good for a three shot lead over winless American Nicole Castrale, and four shots over Park and Cristie Kerr. Even with her bad finish on the day, it sure seemed like Ochoa was going to take the title.

Among the Koreans, there was really no one other than Angela who had a realistic shot at winning. Sarah Lee had a good day, shooting a 70 to move to 4 under total, 7 shots back. Kimmie produced a 69 to move to 3 under, while Jimin Kang and JJ were at 2 under and had good chances for top tens.

Song-Hee Kim, another promising Korean rookie, had struggled much of 2007. This week she hardly broke that streak, but she put herself in good position for her first top twenty of her career. Alas, she would shoot a 76 on Sunday to fall down the leaderboard. Still, her tie for 36th place finish was one of her best of the season. She had a lot of work to do to catch up with Angela, though, which was weird considering how the situation had been completely different on the Futures Tour in 2006. That year, it was Kim who was dominant and Park who was looking up at her.

On Sunday, Angela never made a run at the top, not making her first birdie until the sixth hole (and them immediately making a bogey after that). On the back nine she really struggled, making a bogey and two doubles before a final hole birdie somewhat mitigated the carnage. Her 4 over par 76 dropped her down to solo 6th place. In fact, she was passed by Sarah Lee (pictured with Soo-Yun Kang), who had a great one under par 71 that was one of the few under par rounds on the final day (the best score of the day, in fact, was a 2 under par 70 shot by none other than Christina Kim, who finished tied for 7th). Lee finished tied for 4th with Creamer. In the end, the tournament came down to Castrale and Ochoa, with Castrale amazingly beating the Mexican star in a playoff. Kudos also to Mi Hyun Kim, the other Korean to get a top ten. She finished 7th as well.

Although Angela Park did not win, it was her second career top ten. This helped widen her lead on the rest of the Rookies, and gave her a lot of confidence going into the year's second Major, where she would again excel. Somebody may yet beat Angela for top Rookie honors, but she is sure going to have to produce amazing golf to do it. With her accuracy, mental toughness, and increasing confidence, Angela Park is looking more and more like a star in the making.