2007 KLPGA Lordland S-OIL Champions Invitational

S-OIL Invitational
The Lordland S-OIL Champions Invitational took place from November 9 - 11th on the KLPGA tour. On top of the usual KLPGA stars, a smattering of LPGA players were in attendance, notably Soo-Yun Kang and Futures Tour standout Seo Jae Lee. They also invited a few Thai and Chinese golfers to participate as well; this event might be co-sanctioned by the Asian Ladies Golf Tour, but it's not clear from the press releases. Also playing was Ha Na Jang, the short in stature, long in driving teen who made quite a splash at this year's US Women's Amateur.

In round one, the standout performer was a Korean pro from the home tour: Ji Na Im (pictured). This young player has been making a few waves on leaderboards the past few months, but she really got it going in round one here. She shot a 7 under par 65 consisting of 8 birdies and a bogey (at one point she had five birdies in six holes, and went out in 30). She finished the day with a three shot lead over the field with two rounds to go.

KLPGA superstar Ji Yai Shin was looking for her unprecedented ninth win of the season. She got out to an OK start, shooting a one under par 71 to leave her in a tie for 25th. She has a tendency to start slow and turn it on in the final two rounds, but she had her work cut out for her if she wanted to reel Im in.

The top KLPGA player who did the best was Hyun Hee Moon, who collected a 4 under par 68 (five birdies, one bogey). Hee Young Park shot a 3 under par 69; the young star was still looking for her first win since the middle of last season. Another young gun, Na Yeon Choi, shot a 2 under par 70.

Going into round two, 'Pink Princess' Ji Na Im had a three shot lead over the field. She had some struggles early, though, and the leaderboard tightened considerably. She had three bogies and only a single birdie on the front nine to fall to 5 under total. The wind was strong and the course was playing tough. Meanwhile, some other golfers were making a move.

One of those was Hee Young Park (pictured). Park has been looking all year to get back to her winning ways, and this looked like a golden chance to do just that. She started the day at 2 under, but made 2 birdies on the front nine to climb to 4 under, just a shot out of the lead.

Meanwhile, Ji Yai Shin had an up and down day. Every time it looked like she was going to move up the leaderboard, mistakes would knock her back down. She started the day at one under par, but a one over 73, consisting of four birdies and five bogies, moved her back to even for the event.

The player who was giving Im the most trouble was Hee Kyung So, a youngster who started the day at 3 under and went 2 under on the front nine to move into a tie for the lead at 5 under. But on the back she collapsed, going four over to wind up at 74 and a one under total. Hee Young Park, alas, had the same kind of struggles. Everyone seemed to have problems with the 12th hole, and Hee Young bogied that, along with 13, 16 and 18, and she fell all the way back to one under total.

Im, meanwhile, righted the ship, making three birdies and a bogey in one stretch. She still shot an over par round, but a 73, meaning she finished the day at 6 under total. She had trouble, but in the end increased her lead over the field from three to five shots. For the second week in a row, someone had a big lead going into the final round of a KLPGA event. At the previous event, the KB Star Tour's 5th edition, Young Ran Jo had a six shot lead going into Sunday and still barely won; would Im be able to hold off Park, Hyun Hee Moon and Shin to claim her own maiden win?

As an aside: you may have noticed that a lot of Korean golfers are sponsored by a company called Hi-Mart. Hi-Mart is sort of a Korean version of Best Buy, and indeed, they have extended sponsorships to a number of ladies on the KLPGA tour. At the S-OIL, they convinced their sponsorees to pose for a group photo (above). Wow, that IS a lot of players!!

Ji Na Im (pictured), the Pink Princess, started the final round with a five shot lead and a lot of pressure, as she was trying to claim her first professional win. She didn't get out to a great start: she bogied her first hole. But the golf gods seemed to be on her side in this one, for on the very next hole, she jarred her approach shot for an eagle 2. Even after a bogey on the next hole, she found herself back where she had started the day, 6 under par. For the front nine, she continued to stay well ahead of her peers.

Several KLPGA stars made a run at her. Hee Young Park for a while looked like she was in the best position to make it a real competition. She climbed at one point to 2 under par, but three straight bogies to end her front nine pretty much ended her chances to win as well. She finished 4th.

Ji Yai Shin has been a dominant presence on tour all year, and she started the day with a six shot deficit to overcome. But though she played well, in the end even she was not able to make a move. She shot a one under par 71. Meanwhile, Soo-Yun Kang, the top LPGA representative, looked like she might have a great week. She was poised after two rounds for a top five, but back to back double bogies at the turn killed her chances, and she finished outside the top 10.

So in the end, the tournament came down to Ji Na Im vs. herself. If she could play the back nine more or less in even par, she would take the tournament. And that's exactly what she did, making one birdie and one bogey. She finished the day with an even par 72, and the victory was hers. In the end, only two players finished under par. The other was Shin, who finished at one under, five shots behind Im.

This marked the second week in a row that a newbie had claimed a trophy on tour. The year started with three golfers winning everything, and continued with Shin winning pretty much everything, but the newest trend seemed to be the young guns getting their piece of the pie. Congrats to Im on a brilliant wire to wire win in which she was never seriously challenged. She told the press afterwards that she had won it for her father, who has been stricken with cancer. Here's hoping she can give him a lot more to be happy about in the future!

First, Shin participated in a little welcoming parade; that's her dad with her. She looked like she had a blast, huh? A little later, she received an honorary plaque and trophy from the organizers of the festival. After that, Ji Yai gave a golf clinic (you didn't think it was going to be all about butterflies, did you?). Here we see her giving the locals some tips. They sure kept her busy!