Fairways and Greens

Q-School Finals
Every year, without question, there is one event that is more nerve wracking than any other on the LPGA schedule. That event is the annual qualifying school. At stake for many of these golfers is the chance to play on the most lucrative women's golf tour; if they screw up here, they may have no chance to play on the LPGA for an entire year.

As usual, there was a mix of Korean and Korean American players entered at Q-School, which took place over five rounds on two courses from November 28th - December 2, 2007. Most interesting were the newcomers who were trying to get a tour card for the first time. The most notable among these players were three stars who had made their names overseas. Two of these players had been teen stars on the KLPGA tour: Hee Young Park (pictured) and Na Yeon Choi. They both had finished in the top five at the qualifying sectional they played at earlier in the year, with Choi winning the medalist honors as the top finisher there. Another young star taking her shot was 18 year old Amy Yang. Yang had made history back in 2006 by becoming the youngest person, male or female, to ever win an event on a major golf tour. She did this by winning the ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia, where she lives and trains.

There were a few other notable first timers in the field to keep an eye on. Sukjin Lee-Wuesthoff had made her name by beating LPGA rookie Inbee Park a few years ago to win the US Girls' Junior. Since then, Sukjin's game has fallen off quite a bit, so much so that she considered giving up the game. But she went to a swing guru who gave her new confidence, and so decided to take a crack at the LPGA. Sarah Oh is another Korean star who has made her name in Australia, like the more famous Yang. Misun Cho had also played in Australia before joining the golf team at Pepperdine.

Meanwhile, a number of Futures Tour stars were trying to take the next step up to the LPGA. Notable among them was Jimin Jeong, who had won several times on the Futures Tour, and Ha Na Chae. Perhaps the most poignant stories, however, are reserved for those players who had LPGA status in 2007 but were not able to keep it, and were now trying to get back to the big tour. Some of those players still have non-exempt status next year even if they did poorly at Q-School, but some did not. The most notable name among these players was probably Song Hee Kim (pictured). Kim had actually never been to Q-School: she earned her tour card last year by dominating the Futures Tour in her rookie year. But she had played surprisingly poorly in her rookie year on the LPGA, and was not able to earn exempt status on tour for 2008. She is still conditional, however, having finished 99th on the money list in 2007. So her hope here was to regain exempt status for 2008. Jane Park, Su A Kim, Jeanne Cho-Hunnicke, Hana Kim, Na Ri Kim and Sae Hee Son were among the other non-exempt players trying to get exempt cards. Hana Kim did not even have conditional status secured for 2008, so she had a lot to lose if she were to fall short.

In round one, the player who charged to the top of the leaderboard was Jane Park. Jane shot a blistering 7 under par 65. She had been one of the premiere amateur players in the game a few years ago, but since turning pro, had had a mixed record. Last year she just missed out on getting an exempt card at Q-School, and this year on the LPGA, she did not have a lot of success. But she's obviously a player with a ton of talent, and perhaps all she needs is exempt status to show what she can do. KLPGA player Na Yeon Choi shot a 68 and sat in third place, while Sukjin Lee-Wuesthoff and Jacqueline Yang, an LPGA player trying to regain her status, shot 69s. Su A Kim, Hwanhee Lee and Sarah Oh all shot 70s and were tied for 10th.

Among those who did not start so well were Amy Yang and Hee Young Park. Both of them shot even par rounds, though, and were not far out of contention for a card. This year, there would be only 17 exempt cards awarded (and 35 non-exempt cards), so even though they were tied for 31st at the moment, they had some work to do to get to that level. Song Hee Kim, meanwhile, started with a 74, immediately putting her behind the eight ball.

In round two, Hee Young Park (pictured) made a major statement by shooting a sizzling 5 under par 67 to vault up the leaderboard. Her five under total now sat her in third place, a huge improvement from the 31st place spot she was at to start the day. Jane Park continued her solid play. She did not like the Champions Course, which she played on days two and four, as much as she liked the Legends course, but she still produced a 70 for a nine under total and a three shot lead. For the moment, she was flying high.

Another player who excelled on day two was Song Hee Kim. She shot a 4 under par 68 to move to 2 under total, just out of the range for the exempt cards. Also tied at that score were Jacqueline Yang, Na Yeon Choi, and unheralded non-exempt golfer Su A Kim. Besides the aforementioned players, the other Koreans inside the exempt line at this point were Hwanhee Lee, a Korean golfer who attended the University of Las Vegas, and Hannah Jun, a collegiate golfer from UCLA

After round two, GolfWeek magazine published an article about Hee Young Park and Amy Yang and their efforts to get through Q-School. There were a few factual mistakes in it (for instance, the author claimed that Hee Young Park had been on the KLPGA for two years, when in fact she had been on it for three, and said she had finished second on the money list this year to Ji Yai Shin, when in fact she was sixth). But it was still nice to see a great player like her get some attention from the US media. This article again mentioned the idea that the KLPGA has a mandatory two year membership rule, which states that a player must be a member there for two years before trying to join another tour. If this rule does exist, it must have exceptions, because Jee Young Lee and Shi Hyun Ahn were both rookies on the KLPGA when they won their LPGA events and left to join that tour. The article showed how Park has a determined focus concerning Q-School, saying that she loves America, has been learning English assiduously for the past year, and has been directing her entire season towards getting her card this week. If she were to make it through Q-School, American fans of Korean golfers had a real treat to look forward to!

In round three, things tightened up a little. It seems many of the players preferred the Champions course to the Legends course.

Jane Park (pictured) continued to cruise, notching a third straight under par round to move to 10 under total and a 2 shot lead over Kelli Kuehne, and Hannah Jun also did well, moving to 4th on the leaderboard with a 71 of her own. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the week at this point, however, was Su A Kim, not a player who looked very likely to get a card at the beginning of the week. Kim was a non-exempt rookie on the LPGA in 2007, but she only played four events, notching a 50th place finish as her best of the year. She made only $15,000 all year, and had to come to Q-School to gain any status on tour at all. But she had played really well through three rounds, and after Friday's action, she sat inside the line for exempt status, tied for 8th at 4 under total. The only other Sisters at this point inside the line to gain cards were Hee Young Park and Jacqueline Yang. Park shot a 2 over par 74 on day three to fall back to a tie for 13th at 3 under. Hwanhee Lee had also fallen out of the exempt status thanks to a one over par round, but she still was only one shot out of the promised land with two rounds to go.

Meanwhile, KLPGA star Na Yeon Choi was still doing well, sitting at 1 under total, but needed to kick it up a notch on the weekend if she wanted her exempt card. Amy Yang sat at that same score. Song Hee Kim, who had played so well in round two, had a disastrous third round and fell well off the pace. She shot a 5 over par 77 to plunge to three over total. It was not impossible for her to yet earn her card, but she would need to really play brilliantly on the weekend. Sukjin Lee-Wuesthoff found herself in a similar situation after a third round 76.

Saturday was an important day, not only because those players who were struggling needed to use that day to move back into position, but because a cut fell after the day was done. Only the top 70 players and ties would continue playing on the final day. Granted, anyone far back was going to have a tough time earning a card anyway, but if one missed the cut, the task went from difficult to impossible. So Saturday was the most stressful day yet for many in the field.

For Jane Park, Saturday was yet another day of brilliant golf. Playing once again on her favorite course, she shot her fourth straight round under par, a 4 under par 68. She had led Q-School the whole week, and now had her biggest lead yet, a six shot margin over the number two player on the leaderboard. Barring a major disaster, Jane was looking at her first career exempt card on the LPGA.

Even more impressive was the fact that the next two on the leaderboard were also Korean golfers. Su A Kim (pictured above) had been doing far better than anyone had anticipated all week, but she kicked it into another gear on this day. She also produced a 4 under par 68 and vaulted into second place at 8 under total. Hee Young Park did her one better, shooting a 67 to move to 8 under and a tie for second herself. All three women were looking good for exempt status, but if they gained it, only Hee Young would be a rookie.

The only other Korean golfers after day four in the exempt range were Jacqueline Yang and Hannah Jun, who sat right on the line for the final exempt cards. The score to beat at the moment was 3 under par, which those two ladies both had. But the only other Korean even under par was Jeanne Cho-Hunnicke, who had a one under total. Several other promising Korean players were quite a bit farther back. Song Hee Kim shot a 70 on Saturday, but still was 4 shots out of the exempt status, while Na Yeon Choi was at 2 over total. Amy Yang, meanwhile, had a terrible day, shooting a 77 that plunged her to 4 over and pretty much ended her chances for an exempt card. Apparently she had some challenges that went beyond golf: on one hole: she had to run away from an alligator when her ball ended up a bit too close to the not so friendly creature on one hole! All in all, a 77 was the least of her troubles!

Some of the golfers who missed the cut included Sae Hee Son, Hana Chae, Misun Cho, Irene Cho, and Jin Young Pak.

When day five came to a close at last, the player atop the leaderboard was the same one who had led all week: Jane Park (pictured). Park had won the 2004 US Women's Amateur, the most prestigious tournament in women's amateur golf, but her pro career had not lived up to that level of achievement in the intervening years. With this commanding performance, perhaps she will regain the confidence she once had. In any event, her second year on tour in 2008 should be one to closely watch. She finished the week as she had started, by shooting her fifth straight under par round, a 69, to close with a 17 under par total, and winning the medalist honors by three strokes. Congratulations to her!

It was a clean sweep, with Su A Kim finishing second at 14 under and Hee Young Park third at 10 under. Park will be an exempt rookie on tour next year, but also, the ONLY Korean exempt rookie. For none of the other potential Korean stars were able to finish in the top 17. Na Yeon Choi finished 20th at 2 under total, just two strokes out of the exempt card, and Amy Yang wound up with a 5 over total, which turned out to be barely enough to earn a non-exempt card. Since no Koreans rookies made it to the LPGA through Futures Tour this year, and no KLPGA player won the Kolon-Hana Bank Championship either, Hee Young will have to go it alone in 2008 as a exempt Korean rookie. It's kind of weird after having so many Korean rookies on tour in 2007; 2008 will definitely be an aberration given the trend in recent years. The other Korean who earned her exempt status this week, Jacqueline Yang, was previously exempt on tour.

The Korean golfers who earned non-exempt status on tour to become 2008 rookies were Na Yeon Choi and Sukjin Lee-Wuesthoff (pictured), both of whom finished at 2 under; Hannah Jun and Eun Jung Yi, who had even par totals; Futures Tour mainstay Jimin Jeong and Aussie amateur star Sarah Oh (+2); Hwanhee Lee (+3); and Amy Yang (+5). In addition, the following players regained non-exempt status on tour: Song Hee Kim (even par; she already had non-exempt status before entering Q-School); Jeanne Cho-Hunnicke (+2); Hana Kim (+4); and Na Ri Kim (+5).

So, the big question is, what will the non-exempt Korean golfers do next year? The higher a player finished on the leaderboard, the better her conditional status in 2008, and the more likely she will be able to get into any given tournament field. The players who were well down the list will be lucky to get into more than a couple of tournaments all year, although they will still have the ability to qualify for tournaments on Monday (generally, the top two players in a special Monday qualifier round at most tournaments get a pass to play in the event that week).

Na Yeon Choi (pictured) is in the same position as Na On Min was last year: finishing two shots out of an exempt card. But one difference: Choi has a very successful career on the KLPGA, whereas Min had just turned pro when she faced this choice last year. The temptation will be for Choi to return to Korea. One problem, though, is that she will not automatically qualify for a lot of Majors and big events like she did this year, because she is no longer in the top three on the KLPGA money list. But if she plays over here, she might play well enough to get into those events based on her LPGA performance. So, it seems likely that she will try to make it over here as a non-exempt player.

Amy Yang still has a year of membership on the Euro tour, and her low status here will make it hard to get into a lot of LPGA fields, at least at first. I have heard that she is very interested in playing over here, though, so she might make a go of it on the Futures Tour if she cannot get into LPGA events. Song Hee Kim finished 99th on the money list in 2007, which gives her decent status on tour, so she will probably not want to go back down to the Futures Tour next year.

Sukjin Lee-Wuesthoff, I think, will try her best to Monday qualify at events, and will focus on the LPGA; she hasn't had too much success on the Futures Tour anyway. Hana Kim has said she has no interest in the Futures Tour, so she will probably focus on the LPGA like last year.

Congratulations to all the women who faced the grueling test that is Q-School and came through with some kind of card. For those players, the best is surely yet to come in 2008!

Se Ri earned enough points to qualify for the Hall when she won the Michelob Ultra Open back in May, 2004, but she had to wait until she completed ten years on tour before she could officially qualify for the Hall. That happened when she completed the first round of her tenth tournament this year, at the LPGA Championship. A few months later, the LPGA gave her a wonderful party to celebrate her induction, as reported two issues ago in this magazine. The circle was officially completed with her induction. Se Ri chose Nancy Lopez, one of her dearest friends on tour, to do the honors and actually present Se Ri for induction. Lopez, a fellow Hall of Famer who, like Se Ri, had earned her way into the Hall while still quite young, was a fitting choice. Se Ri gave a brief, off the cuff speech thanking everyone for the honor and talking about how it had been a dream come true for her to achieve this long term goal. By being inducted while still just 30 years old, Se Ri has become the youngest living person in the Hall. She also became the first Korean in the Hall, and thus earned another honor: she was allowed to raise a Korean flag outside the Hall for the first time ever. From now on, that flag will fly outside the Hall, along with the flags of the other countries with honorees. That is indeed a fitting statement about the impact Se Ri has had on Korean golf (and, for that matter, golf in general).

Click here to see more photos of Se Ri's Hall of Fame Day & a nice gallery of magazine covers

The highlight was when she talked about her tri-cultural identity, giving parts of her speech in Portuguese, English and Korean. It was also nice to hear her mention Inbee Park, her fellow Korean rookie, as her best friend on tour.

Angela earned her way into the Rookie of the Year award by dominating a tough class of rookies pretty much from the opening bell. She notched 8 top tens and finished in the top ten on the money list, 8th in scoring and second in birdies made to Lorena Ochoa. The highlights of her year included a third place finish at her second event of the year, the Fields Open, and two top fives in Majors, including a tie for second at the US Women's Open.

Click here for more pics!

Mi Hyun Kim's annual lecture
On November 26th in Seoul, Mi Hyun Kim gave a speech to selected staff members of KTF, her primary sponsor. The lecture was entitled, "Those who are afraid of change cannot succeed". This seems to be somewhat of an annual tradition for Kimmie, as she did the same thing last year (though presumably she gave a different speech this year!). Maybe she should think about going on the lecture circuit? I'd buy a ticket!

There are more pics of this lecture here!

November Portraits
Lastly, the LPGA snapped some new glamour photos of the ladies while they attended this years ADT Championship. Naturally, these photos only include the women who were present at that tournament, but there were some nice photos of players like Christina Kim, Se Ri Pak, Jee Young Lee, etc. Check them out here!

Money List
The LPGA season ended with the Korean golfers unable to collect another win. Their win total of four events is the lowest collectively for the Seoul Sisters since 2000, and it was the first time they did not win a Major since 2003. On the other hand, they captured the top four spots on the Rookie of the Year list, the first time they were ever that successful, and they placed five players in the top ten of the year ending money list, another first.

Three players advanced to the final round of the ADT Championship, bettering the mark of two they achieved last year, but unfortunately all three of them finished in the bottom half of the Sunday standings. They did better at the Tournament of Champions, where three unlikely Koreans shone. Jimin Kang collected her second top ten of the year there, and Jin Joo Hong made her first. Birdie Kim, meanwhile, finished second, her best finish on tour since winning the US Women's Open back in 2005. It was a nice ending to the year for all three.

Also of note, Hee-Won Han, in just her second event since returning to action, notched a top ten at the Tournament of Champions as well.