Fairways and Greens

US Girl's Junior
The last month has featured two of the most important events in women's amateur golf: the US Girl's Junior and the US Women's Amateur. As usual, both events saw Korean and Korean American golfers figure prominently in the outcome.

First up was the US Girls Junior. This event is open to girls age 17 and younger. That excluded some of the Korean and Korean American amateur golf stars, like Tiffany Joh, but many others are young enough to get into the field. The event this year was contested at Tacoma Country and Golf Club in Tacoma, Washington, from July 23 - 28th. The defending champion was Jenny Shin, who in 2006 had become the second youngest champion in the history of the event when she defeated fellow Korean American starlet Vicky Hurst in extra holes. Since then, she had not played all that well, and came into the event struggling to regain the form she had shown that magical week. Alas, it would not happen this week: both Shin and Hurst would miss the cut and fail to advance to the match play portion of the event.

Meanwhile, another USGA defending champion made a lot of noise in the first round of stroke play. Korean American Kimberly Kim had become the youngest winner in the 100+ year history of the US Women's Amateur when she took the title at 14 years of age in 2006. Unlike Shin, she has piled more impressive feats on her resume in the months since, including a recent triumph at an important AJGA event. But no one was expecting what happened in round one (of two) of the stroke play qualifying in this year's Girls Junior. Kim Kim was absolutely on fire, making four birdies on the front nine and 6 more on the back nine to card a blazing 10 under par 62. The 62 tied the all time record for lowest total score in any USGA event, which was previously achieved by Christina Kim in 2001 during the US Girls Junior (but on a par 70 course). Kim Squared seemed rather unimpressed by the achievement, commenting that all that mattered in a match play event was qualifying for the match play portion of the event. Of course, she did just that, earning medalist honors with an even par 72 in round two. Her 10 under total left her two shots ahead of second place Ha Na Jang, who shot 69-67 over the two days. Jang, a 15 year old who has played mostly in Korea, is among the most renowned of the young amateurs coming up through the ranks there. Finishing fourth was another Korean American, Kristen Park, a 14 year old from southern California playing in her first ever match play event. Other top girl stars who advanced included Michelle Shin (no relation to defending champ Jenny Shin), Jane Rah, and Korean national team captain Jennifer Song.

Unfortunately, Ha Na Jang was beaten handily in the first round, as was Jane Rah. But Kristen Park defeated her opponent handily, as did Kim Kim. Jennifer Song played Chinese golfer Shanshan Fang, and had one of the biggest wins in a long time, a 7 & 6 thumping of her opponent that ended on the 12th hole. Kim Kim continued her success in round 2, ousting Tessa Teachman easily 5 & 3. Kristen Park (pictured) had a tougher time, winding up all square after 18 holes against her opponent, Brittany Altomare of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Park eventually prevailed in 21 holes. But Jennifer Song fell to top junior player Mina Harigae 4 & 3.

Kim Kim continued her success, edging her third round opponent Mary Michael Maggio 2 & 1. This set up a battle between two of Hawaii's top amateur golfers, Kim and Stephanie Kono, in the quarterfinals. Michelle Shin also advanced, as did Kristen Park. Thus, four of the final eight had Korean blood (the fourth was Canadian Sue Kim).

The quarterfinals were a hard fought affair, with three of the four matches going to extra holes. Michelle Shin was the lone exception, advancing with a 4 & 3 win over Sarah Brown. But the Hawaiian tussle turned into an epic battle. On the back nine, Kono moved to a 2 up lead, but Kim Kim fought back, squaring the match on 16. They tied on the first four playoff holes before Kono finally put Kim away on the 23rd hole with a birdie. Ayako Kaneko, yet another golfer from Hawaii, won her match against Sue Kim in 23 holes, while Kristen Park took 19 holes to advance in her match.

Kristen Park had been the youngest and least experienced player in the quarterfinals. In fact, she had only started playing the game, thanks to the encouragement of her grandfather, when she was ten, just four years ago. But she managed to squeak out a 2 up win over Kono in her semifinal match, while Kaneko beat Michelle Shin in the other match with a birdie on the final hole. This set up the 36 hole final between Park and Kaneko for all the marbles.

Park doubtless had some jitters at the outset; she missed a par putt to halve the hole on the very first hole, then missed another par save on the second hole. In just two holes, she had already fallen two down to her more experienced competitor. But Kaneko had putting woes of her own, lipping out a par save on the fourth to lose that hole. The rest of the morning session was a tight battle, as the two players traded off the lead several times. They wound up all square as they reached the halfway point.

On the first hole in the afternoon, Park's bunker shot hit the flag, nearly dropping for birdie. Kaneko had a chance to take the lead with a short birdie, but again her putter failed her. On the next hole, Park drilled her approach to two feet and took the lead. She won the 22nd and 23rd holes as well to move to 3 up, then lost 24 to fall back to 2 up. On the 27th hole, she again nailed her iron to a foot for another easy birdie, her third of the front nine in the afternoon. She now sat at 3 up with nine to play. Time was running out for Ayako Kaneko.

But Kaneko's putting woes continued. She missed a par save on 30 to fall 4 down. Park held on to that lead until she was dormie, 4 up with 4 to play. Kaneko found herself on the 33rd hole with a must make par save to extend the match. But again, she missed it, and the victor was Kristen Park. 14 year old Kristen Park, entering her freshman year at Sunny Hills High School in the fall, has become the fourth youngest girl to win the US Girls Junior in history. Congratulations to her on this auspicious achievement!

Click here to see more photos from this year's US Girl's Junior

US Women's Amateur
The biggest women's amateur event held in the US every year is the US Women's Amateur. This year it was contested at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana, from August 6 - 12th. The defending champion, Kimberly Kim (pictured), had just come off a decent showing at the US Girls Junior a few weeks earlier. Many of the Korean girls from that event were back here as well, including Kristen Park, the winner of the Girls Junior, Ha Na Jang, Jane Rah, and Michelle Shin, who had reached the semis of the Girls Junior. As at that event, the Amateur consisted of two rounds of stroke play, following which the top 64 golfers on the scoreboard would be paired up in match play matches, playing until only one golfer remained.

After the stroke play portion, several prominent golfers failed to make the cut, including Kristen Park. Almost joining her was the defending champ, Kim Kim. Kim was in fact in danger of missing the cut most of the second day before she rallied at the end to make the field. Things would not get much easier for her during the match play competition.

NCAA champ Stacy Lewis and Kristina Wong were the co-medalists of the stroke play portion, but several Koreans finished well. Tied for third, in fact, were three Korean women: Jennifer Song, Mi Jung Hur and So Yeon Ryu, with college star Jenny Suh another shot behind them. Jennifer Song is the captain of the Korean national team; she finished tied for low amateur (with Duke star Jennie Lee, another Korean American) at this year's US Women's Open. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she has dual American-Korean citizenship. Hur is one of the top amateurs in Korea. Last year, she finished tied for 6th at the LPGA's Kolon-Hana Bank Championship. Ryu was the breakout golf star at last year's Asian Games. She shot a 29 under par total during the singles competition, winning the gold medal there by 9 shots. She also helped Korea to win the team competition at that event.

As usual, the first round of match play saw its share of upsets and easy advances. Among the Koreans, the most surprising loss was by Ryu, who was up in much of her match with Lizette Salas, but ended up losing the 16th and 17th holes to lose the match 2 & 1. Kim Squared, meanwhile, found herself in a tough first round matchup with Ayako Kaneko, a fellow Hawaiian who had just finished runner up at the US Girls Junior a few weeks earlier. Their match was close the whole day, with Kim finally going ahead for good on the 17th and winning 1 up. Jennifer Song and Jane Rah advanced easily, as did Jenny Suh, who trounced Amanda Costner 7 & 6. Rebecca Kim, a Dukie from Oregon, pulled a big upset when she took down college star Taylore Karle 2 & 1. Mi Jung Hur advanced 3 & 1, but fellow Korean amateur star Ha Na Jang took 22 holes to beat Lindy Duncan. Korean American Vicky Hurst also advanced 5 & 4 over Lisa McCloskey.

In round two, several of the Korean ladies had tough matchups, at least on paper. Rebecca Kim drew Mina Harigae, one of the very top amateur golfers in the country; she lost 4 & 3. Mi Jung Hur met Ha Na Jang for bragging rights among the top Korean amateurs. It wasn't even close; Jang trounced Hur 6 & 5. Vicky Hurst (pictured) drew co-medalist Kristina Wong in round two. A pretty tough break, but Hurst persevered, winning 3 & 1. Jenny Suh, meanwhile, had to face Amanda Blumenhurst, one of the top three college golfers in the country; she was waxed 5 & 4 in that matchup. Jennifer Song also had a tough opponent in Michelle Shin. After falling two down, Song rallied, scoring birdie-par-birdie on the final three holes to win all three and eke out a one up win.

Then there was Kim Kim, facing another tough opponent in Japanese golfer Rikako Morita. Morita proved to be an even tougher foe to beat than Kaneko was in round one; in fact, it looked as though Morita had Kim beaten as they went to the 18th tee. But Morita made some mistakes on that hole, Kim won hole 18 to square the match, and eventually won in overtime in 20 holes.

In other matches, Tiffany Joh, a great college golfer at UCLA, romped over her opponent 6 & 5, while another Duke player, Jennie Lee, also moved on.

Round three was played later that afternoon. The marquee match featured Vicky Hurst against arch-rival Mina Harigae, a matchup of two of the top girl golfers in the country. The contest lived up to its billing, with plenty of thrills, lead changes and great golf. All square when they reached the 18th hole, Harigae drained a birdie there to take that match from Hurst. It was sweet revenge for Harigae, whom Hurst had beaten in the semifinals of the US Girls Junior the previous year.

Another great match featured Ha Na Jang against Tiffany Joh. Joh had been white hot all week, while Jang had struggled somewhat at times (although she had had little trouble in her second round). This match was also a nailbiter that went to extra holes. Jang wound up winning it in 20 holes. Jennifer Song also advanced, while Kimberly Kim (pictured) finally had a relatively easy match, beating Alison Walshe 4 & 3.

And so, the quarterfinals were set: Harigae faced incoming college freshman Maria Jose Uribe; 12 year old Alexis Thompson would take on 15 year old Ha Na Jang in a battle of the youngsters; Jennie Lee would face Amanda Blumenhurst in a battle of Duke stars; and Kim Kim would take on Jennifer Song in a fight between good friends.

Three of the matches were one sided affairs, with Jang, Uribe and Blumenhurst each winning 5 & 4. Jang seized control of her match early with booming drives and brilliant putting. She made a birdie on 2, then a very long birdie on 4 to take a one up lead. She also birdied five and seven, an amazing four birdies in her first seven holes. She was 3 up by the time she reached the par 5 9th hole in two; but she messed up by three putting that green and squaring the hole with Thompson. She made up for it on the next hole, however, when her opponent dunked her tee shot in the water while Jang reached the green in regulation.

Jang continued to pound the increasingly upset pre-teen with an unbelievable display of power golf. On the 11th, she hit a gap wedge (!) from 115 yards, but still lost the hole. But she scrambled to square 12 after hitting an approach from 150 yards with an 8 iron over the green. See what we mean by power? That was her last big mistake, though. On 13 she made an easy par while her opponent bogied, then parred the next hole to put the match away 5 & 4. On to the semifinals, where she would face Uribe.

The only competitive quarterfinal match was that between friends Jennifer Song and Kimberly Kim. The match was close the whole way, with the two frequently exchanging the lead. On the back nine, the first three holes were won with birdies, including two lengthy ones by Song. After they both parred 13, Kim made a birdie on 14 to win the hole and again square the match. On the par 5 15th, however, Kim struggled, and Song had two putts to win the hole. She did, moving ahead again. But Song had problems on 16 and Kim won that hole to square the match again. They finished regulation tied, with Kim finally putting Song away on the 21st hole. Kim's reward would be to face the seemingly unstoppable Blumenhurst in the semis.

That was as far as the Korean golfers got this year, as both Uribe and Blumenhurst won their matches. Blumenhurst played one of the most perfect golf rounds in Amateur history. It seemed like every approach shot was within five feet of the hole (and often much closer than that). On the back, Kim finally made a run at her, but despite four straight birdies, and the support of Jennifer Song, who was following her the whole match to offer encouragement, she was only able to make up one shot in that stretch. Blumenhurst ended up winning their match 5 & 3. Jang (pictured) and Uribe had a much closer match. Uribe took the lead on the 10th hole and maintained that 1 up lead for hole after hole. Finally on the 16th hole, she put her drive into a nearly impossible lie near the bunker, and it looked like Jang might catch her. But somehow, Uribe got the ball out, then drilled a twenty foot par save to halve the hole. On the par 3 17th, Jang put her tee shot within five feet while Uribe was about 50 feet off. But again, Uribe made the improbable birdie to win the match outright. Afterwards, Jang broke down in tears, the enotion of her stunning defeat finally catching up with her. But there's not much you can do when your opponent is putting like that.

In the end Uribe won the title, but congratulations to Kim Kim on a valiant defense, and to Jang for a great coming out party. With her booming 300+ yard drives and raucous fist pumps, she will definitely be one to watch in the next few years!

Click here to see more photos from this year's US Women's Amateur

Canon Cup
Yes, there was more amateur golf news to report in the last month! The Canon Cup is an annual West vs. East tournament that pits top juniors from those areas of the country against each other in a mixed gender team match over three days. The West won this year's edition. Both teams included Korean American stars. On the East team were Vicky Hurst and Michelle Shin, while the West team included Kimberly Kim (who was undefeated over the three days), Kristen Park, Jenny Shin, Jane Rah, and Joanne Lee.

This year's event took place in early August at the Honors Course in Tennessee. The West took a big lead over the first two days, but the East mounted a furious charge on the third day in an attempt to capture the cup. In the end, the West team's lead was too much to overcome, and they won the event 27 points to 23. The totals by day: on day one the East eked out a narrow lead, 8 points to 7. On day two, however, the West won 12 points to only 3 for the East. On the final day, the East won 12 points, the West 8.

Congratulations to both teams and the Korean American stars who helped to make the event a success!

Junior Solheim Cup
Yes, there is yet more amateur golf news to report! Every two years, the best American women golfers take on the best women golfers from Europe in the Solheim Cup. Before the start of this event, however, there is a junior version of the Solheim Cup, which pits a team of top junior golfers from each territory against each other. Recently, the members of the American Junior Solheim Team were named. Among their ranks were four Korean Americans: Vicky Hurst, Kimberly Kim, Kristen Park and Jane Rah. Congratulations to the four of them, and good luck at the competition in Sweden!

Ji Min Jeong wins on Futures Tour
Ji Min Jeong gained the third victory by a Korean on the Futures Tour this year. The event was the USI Championship in Concord, NH, the first week of August. Jeong, in her third year on the tour, has won twice before this year, but has not been able to acquire an LPGA card in her time on tour. She had been playing decently this season, but a win had eluded her up to then. Ji Min entered the day tied for the lead with Jenny Gleason, but Gleason struggled, shooting a 75 to tumble into a share for third. The biggest challenge to Jeong came from Tiffany Tavee, a second year player who started the day far behind the leaders, but who shot a 68 to move to 4 under total and solo second place. But Jeong was steady all day, eventually carding three birdies and a bogey on the day to shoot a 70 and finish the tournament with a 7 under total and a three shot win.

Money List
Seon Hwa Lee makes a huge leap up the money list thanks to winning the second most lucrative event in women's golf, the World Match Play Championship. Jee Young Lee also had a great three weeks with her second place finish at the British Women's Open. This marks the third top ten in a Major in 2007 for Jee Young (and her fourth Major finish was tied for 13th -- not bad at all!).

The Korean rookies continued to shine. Eun Hee Ji played her first two LPGA events of the year, notched two top 20s including a tied for 5th at her first ever Major, and catapulted herself onto the money list. She has probably secured her exemption for 2008 in just two events. Nice going! In-Bee Park nearly had her second top ten in a Major when she finished 11th at the British, and Na On Min also finished 11th to nearly make her second top ten in a Major. Jin Joo Hong had a good tournament at the Evian, even leading for a while. Meanwhile, Angela Park missed her first LPGA cut at the British.

Among the veterans, Se Ri made her second straight top five at a Major, while Kimmie and JJ surprisingly missed the cut. But Kimmie finished 3rd at the Match Play and JJ second at the Evian, so both made a ton of cash this period anyway.