Christina's World

However, things didn't work out so well for Ji Young Oh (pictured) in 2007. She started her LPGA career by missing her first four cuts, often by a lot. The next two events saw her play significantly better, coming close to top 20s both times. But after that, it was back to missing cuts. She managed to qualify for both the US Women's Open and the British Women's Open, but missed both those cuts, too. As she entered the Safeway, she still had a lot of work to do if she wanted to finish in the top 90 and maintain her tour card. In fact, at that point, it looked unlikely she could do it.

But there were a few signs that maybe things were about to get a lot better. At the Canadian Women's Open, the event before the Safeway, Oh shot a 67 on day two and a 68 on day four, two of her best rounds of the year. She only finished 43rd at that event, but those two scores doubtless showed her she had what it took to play well even on LPGA level courses. At the Safeway, she was on fire pretty much from the start of her round, much of which this reporter followed in person. In her first six holes, she was about as on fire as you could be: she had five very short birdie putts in those holes. However, she only made two of them, on her first two holes. Oh has been one of the most accurate golfers off the tee in the league, and she certainly hit a lot of fairways this day. Perhaps her putting has held her back in other tournaments as well?

Well, she continued to hit greens and continued to give herself birdie tries, only she started to make some of them. She birdied the par 5 7th, one of the easiest holes on the course, then made it through the tricky 8th and 9th holes to turn at 3 under total. She then made three straight birdies on holes 10-12 to move to 6 under par and the lead. She made a beautiful 15 foot birdie putt on the 15th hole to move to 7 under, by far her best performance of the year to that point. But the last three holes on this course are treacherous, and even getting through them in even par is an accomplishment. Alas, she three putted the par 3 16th for bogey. But she bounced back with a two putt par on 17 and another par after missing a lengthy birdie try on 18. She finished her day with her career best score of 6 under par 66, which gave her at the time a two shot lead. It was rarefied air for the young Korean rookie.

Things got a bit more pressure filled for Oh as the day wore on. Lorena Ochoa had won the two previous events on tour and was looking to make it three in a row. She was paired with Se Ri Pak (pictured). Se Ri played pretty well all day, hitting most of her greens and giving herself a lot of chances for birdie. But she didn't seem to be able to make anything. Meanwhile, Ochoa had absolutely everything go her way. She dunked a birdie from a bunker, made two putts from off the green, and then, on the 18th and final hole, hit a simply ridiculous chip from a treacherous lie, downhill, with a large break, directly into the hole for a birdie, while Pak missed a far easier uphill putt for birdie moments later. Ochoa is tough enough to beat without making those kinds of shots. That final birdie moved her to 5 under total, which also meant she would play in the final group on Saturday with European star Sophie Gustafson, who shot a 66, and rookie Ji Young Oh. Oh had played quite well on Friday, but now she would be paired with the best player on tour in a group sure to be followed by large galleries, most of whom would be rooting for her opponent. It would be a real trial by fire for the teen.

Meanwhile, Christina Kim, fighting hard to make the Solheim team, played well in the first round. She shot a 3 under par 69 that consisted of five birdies and two bogies. That left her in a tie for 6th after the day was done. Her chief competition for the final two captain's picks did not do as well. Nicole Castrale struggled all day to get something going, and looked in danger of missing the cut. Laura Diaz did better, carding a one under par 71. But for the moment at least, Christina was in the driver's seat.

Several other Koreans started the week well. Sarah Lee and Jacqueline Yang both shot 69s. Second year player Kyeong Bae played her first round with fellow sophomore Seon Hwa Lee and Birdie Kim. She got the best of that threesome, producing a 2 under par 70. Lee really struggled with her game. On her first hole, the tenth, she started with a needless three putt, and things didn't get much better the rest of the day. She wound up with a 3 over par 75.

The last few events, Lorena Ochoa took control of the event well before the end, making her winning a foregone conclusion. She did not have it quite so easy this time, but she still put herself in a commanding position by the end of her Saturday round. Ji Young Oh, meanwhile, acquitted herself well in what must have been a tough situation. She put together a one under par 71 that consisted of four birdies and three bogies. But she must have felt like she was standing still compared to her two playing partners. Gustafson shot a 4 under par round, Ochoa a 6 under par round, and by the end of the day, Ochoa, with an 11 under par total, once again found herself in the lead at a tournament with one round to go. Gustafson was second at 10 under, while Oh was tied for third at 7 under. It seemed unlikely that Oh was going to be able to catch the two leaders, but even if she put together a top five finish, she might make enough money to secure her exempt status for next year. A lot was riding on her third round.

The first group I followed on Saturday was the Korean threesome of Young Kim, Na On Min and Song Hee Kim. Song Hee Kim has been a true enigma in 2007. Last year, she had been virtually unstoppable on the Futures Tour, winning five times and thoroughly dominating her opponents, which included LPGA rookie stars In-Bee Park and Angela Park. But in 2007 on the big tour, she has had almost no success. She will have to play some fantastic golf in the final few events of the year to maintain her exempt status for 2008. Having seen her up close, it seems that her biggest problem is her putting. In the second round, she usually outdrove her playing partners pretty easily. But she missed three short putts, including a one footer for par. She would nonetheless have a good day, shooting a one under par round to easily make the cut.

By the end of the day, other than Ji Young Oh, no Korean player was even close to the leaders. Christina had a decent day, shooting a one under par round, including an eagle on the par 5 7th. But her total of 4 under left her 7 shots behind Ochoa and 6 behind Gustafson. Still, she was playing well and was determined to give it her all for the Solheim captains on Sunday. Shi Hyun Ahn had one of the best rounds of the day for the Koreans, a 5 under par 67, which moved her into the top ten on the leaderboard. But like Christina, she was too far back to have a realistic shot at the title.

One player who was having a great time was Tiffany Joh. Joh (pictured) is one of the top college golfers in the country; she plays for UCLA. Earlier this year, she won a spot in this event by winning the Safeway Open, a special qualifier event. She had an extremely solid three days in Portland. After struggling somewhat to a 2 over par opening round, she shot a 70 in round two, and finished her week with a 71. She wound up finishing tied for 22nd, a great result for her first LPGA event. Although she is staying in college for the time being, look for Tiffany out on tour sometime in the near future. And thanks very much to Tiffany's father, who sent us several exclusive photos of Tiffany and her good friend Jane Park taken during the Safeway event!

The week did not turn out nearly so well for Grace Park. She wound up shooting 12 over par for two rounds and missing the cut by a lot. Jimin Kang also had trouble, particularly in her second round, where she shot a 79. Korean American teen star Michelle Wie continued her massive slump with yet another missed cut in 2007. But Soo-Yun Kang, who has missed many cuts in the past two years, returned to the sight of her greatest triumph and actually had a darn nice round on Saturday. She shot a 69 and found herself tied for 28th after two rounds.