Volume 1, Number 11 August 6, 2003
 
Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Gallery, Results
Part I: Saturday (continued)

Hole 10: Par 5 downhill 520 yards
Great drive, but her second landed in the greenside bunker. The flag was close to the bunker, though, so getting it close would be a chore. I saw Mary Bryan walking along with the group; she looked mad for some reason. Se Ri hit a good out, and it rolled maybe 8 feet past the flag. But she made the return birdie putt to move to 2 under. At this point, the light sprinkling that had just started got much worse. The rain came down hard, and mosquitoes suddenly assaulted me on a continuous basis.

In fact, there were two constants about this course much of the week. The first was the intermittent horrible weather, and the second was the endless stream of mosquitoes that attacked you at every chance. I do not exaggerate: there was one hole where, while waiting for Se Ri to hit her approach, I swatted easily six mosquitoes and still got bitten. By the end of the week, my arms looked like the lunar surface: covered with pockmarks.

Hole 11: Par 3. Bunker along front

The pin was in the back today. She hit a mediocre tee shot, leaving her a 25 footer for birdie. No problem, though, with a short par save. Now the rain was really coming down.

Se Ri hits a nice approach from round 3
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming

Hole 12: 377 yards. Straight
Now the rain was like a monsoon. She had put her rain stuff on and had the big umbrella out. Good drive, a tad right. I was cowering under a tree at this point trying to stay dry. Lindley was in a bunker, and when she hit it out it was pure mud. You do not want to be in there right now. Great approach for Se Ri, perfectly on line but 8 feet short. She made a birdie putt with good line and speed, but just to the left of where she wanted to be. Tap in par. As she stood waiting for Leta to finish, a guy walked up behind her and blew an air horn, which caused her to jump about three feet in the air in shock. Play was suspended due to the torrential downpour, which had left standing water on several greens.

At this point I was about as far from the media center as you could be. It was quite an adventure getting back. I made it to a hospitality tent and stood there for a while, crowded in with a lot of other folks. But the grass was so saturated that there started to be two inches of standing water, and I decided to go for the media center. By the time I got there, I was drenched. I dried off there and waited about an hour while the weather passed and the grounds crew made the course playable.

Another nice approach from round 3
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming

Hole 13:
Standing water all over the fairway. The horn blew and we were off again. Se Ri's drive leaked a little left. It landed in the fairway, producing a spray of water on impact. I thought that would stop it, but it kept rolling right into the heavy rough. Oi. Her iron was a great shot from there uphill to the green. She was yelling for it to stop. Lindley, meanwhile, hit her drive into the right trees, but got her approach to within about ten feet of the hole and made birdie. Se Ri's shot was 25 feet away, again in the fringe, and the final result was a tap in par.

Hole 14: One of the harder holes. A par 4 with a landing area, and bit of gunch to carry and a left dogleg

You have to land your first shot in the fairway or there is hell to pay. Se Ri did so easily, perfect. I whacked three mosquitoes watching Se Ri's approach here. Flag is middle front today, not a hard position. Se Ri's shot bounced over a ridge in the green and seemed to get close. Lindley missed the green, but chipped in another birdie. Se Ri missed a seven footer she probably should have made; a bit of break, not a gimme, but a slight disappointment, especially considering the much harder shot Lindley made.

Se Ri and Colin Cann again worked well together
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming

Se Ri is still struggling somewhat with
her putting, but it's starting to come around
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming

Hole 15: Par 3, not much to it. 180 yards
At this point Se Ri was in ninth place at 2 under. Inkster and Daniel had the lead at 7 under. Flag right in the middle of green. Looked like a great tee shot again, leaving her a 15 footer for birdie. Drained it perfectly. 3 under.

Hole 16: Par 4 dogleg. But a RIGHT dogleg for a change!!
She hit a nice tee shot, in the perfect spot in the fairway, probably 80 yards past Leta. She had a perfect look at the flag, but did not hit a great iron, leaving it maybe 20 feet short, albeit with an uphill putt. She hit the putt really hard, but it still did not make it to the hole. She whacked her thigh in frustration, but made the two foot remainder without problem.

Hole 17: Par 3; Two tiered green
The flag was on the top tier today. Her shot was a bit right, but on the right tier. 15 feet away, but her putt just missed. Another easy par.

Hole 18: Par 5; pretty narrow hole, so a second shot at the green was a bit scary
She hit a nice drive, 264 yards, well in the fairway. A good second shot just to the right of green, in the rough. The flag was in the upper left corner, some 60 feet away. Not the world's easiest chip. She had to get it on the top tier to have a chance at birdie. So she hit a masterful chip to maybe a foot for an easy birdie. Better than anything I saw the entire US Open from her in terms of chipping. That moved her to 4 under, a tie for third, and assured her a spot in the penultimate group on Sunday.

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