2007 KLPGA ADT-CAPS Championship

ADT-CAPS Championship
The final event of the KLPGA season was the ADT-CAPS Championship. It took place two weeks after the S-OIL Invitational (in fact, there is one more KLPGA event after this one, the co-sanctioned Orient China Ladies Open, which takes place after the Kyoraku Cup, but the ADT-CAPS has traditionally been the season "CAPper" for the KLPGA). The defending champion was a relatively obscure player named Ji Won Yoon. This was a three day tournament played on Cheju island at the Sky Hill Golf Course (par 72, 6,245 yards). As usual, the sponsors invited a few top LPGA golfers to play. This year, Joo Mi Kim, Il Mi Chung and Jin Joo Hong were the Seoul Sisters who made the trip (pictured above with Ji Yai Shin before the tournament).

The leader after round one was Hye Yoon Kim. Kim shot a 4 under par 68 consisting of 6 birdies and 2 bogies. Among those tied for second was Woo Ri Choi at 3 under. This was not exactly a star packed leaderboard; most of the top KLPGA golfers (and the guest LPGA golfers) struggled on this day. Il Mi Chung shot a horrendous 79, while Joo Mi Kim and Jin Joo Hong could only produce 75s. Even KLPGA superduperstar Ji Yai Shin got out to a weak start with a 74. Hyun Hee Moon did all right with an even par first round, but Eun Hee Ji and Sun Ju Ahn shot 77 and 76 respectively.

Two other top KLPGA players, Hee Young Park and Na Yeon Choi, were absent, busily preparing for LPGA Q-School the following week.

Sometimes the easiest thing to do when writing these stories is to type 'Ji Yai Shin played well'. More often than not, I'd probably be right. In round two, none other than the superstar of the KLPGA, Ji Yai Shin, did just that. She started the day a bit back in the field following a 74 in round one, but charged up the leaderboard on day two. She shot a 3 under par 33 on the front nine and added two more birdies on 11 and 13 to move to 5 under on the day and 3 under total. At the time, that was a tie for the lead. But a double bogey on the 16th hole knocked her back to 1 under, where she would finish her day. She ended the day tied for 3rd, and shot the best round of the day with her 69, despite the double.

But a couple of players separated themselves from the field, and both of them were newbies in uncharted territory. Hye Yoon Kim (pictured) was the first day leader, and she shot an even par 72 to remain at 4 under for the tournament. She was duking it out for much of the day with another green player, Son Wook Im. Im started the day at 3 under, but two late birdies on 15 and 16 allowed her to shoot a 70 and move to 5 under total and the lead. Those two have a several shot lead over the rest of the field, including Shin. They may need it, judging by Shin's tendency to go low on Sunday to win tournaments.

Among other "name" players, Soo Young Moon of the LPGA sat at 1 over par, tied for 6th, while Joo Mi Kim and Jin Joo Hong were both at 3 over, tied for 10th, after even par rounds on day two.

In Round 3, Ji Yai Shin started the day four shots behind the leader of the ADT-CAPS Championship. Could she possibly make another run up the leaderboard and win her 9th tournament of 2007, or would one of the two young players ahead of her defy the odds and collect their first victory?

Hye Yoon Kim was three shots ahead of Shin to start the day, with Son Wook Im four shots ahead. Kim played steadily on the front nine, making a bogey and all the rest pars to fall to 2 under. In the same stretch, Shin made two birdies and a double bogey to remain at one under, while Im had three bogies and two birdies to fall to 4 under.

Meanwhile, LPGA starlet Joo Mi Kim (pictured) was having a great day. She made three birdies total and no mistakes to shoot a 69 and move to even par for the event. That was a good performance, but it would not be good enough to win.

On the back nine, Hye Yoon Kim ran into trouble. She made three straight bogies from hole 10, a birdie on 15 and another bogey on 16. This dropped her well behind the leaders and out of contention for the title.

So it would all come down to Shin and Im. At the turn, Im still had a three shot advantage over the KLPGA's top star. But Shin made that up in a flurry, thanks to birdies on 10, 11 and 14. Thus, with a few holes to go, Shin and Im were tied atop the leaderboard at 4 under total.

On the 16th hole, Im made an ill timed bogey to fall to 3 under, one shot behind Shin. They both reached the 18th hole with Shin still holding that one shot advantage. On that hole, Shin made it academic by dunking a birdie to put the tournament out of reach. Which was just as well: Im made bogey there to drop down to 2 under, giving Shin a three shot victory.

So Ji Yai Shin had done it yet again: her ninth KLPGA win of the year, 13th of her amazing career. She just keeps going and going! Congratulations to Ji Yai Shin!

Afterwards, Ji Yai posed with the trophies she had won so far in 2007. Now that's a lot of hardware. Congratulations again, Ji Yai Shin!!