Volume 1, Number 12 August 20, 2003
 

Fairways and Greens

 

New Pics of Mi Hyun at the Wendy's
Seoul Sisters fan 'Ponyboy' was at the Wendy's Championship for Children and followed Mi Hyun Kim around on practice day. He sent us these photos. Enjoy!

Futures Tour season concludes; two Koreans earn cards
The Futures Tour season has come to an end, and two Korean players have earned fully exempt cards for the 2004 LPGA season. Soo Young Moon, the 19 year old who has nonexempt status on the LPGA and is thus the second youngest player on tour, decided this year to focus on the Futures Tour. It was a good choice. She ended up second on the Futures Tour money list and won the Futures Tour's Rookie of the Year award. She collected two victories, three seconds, and nine top tens in 16 starts, and made the LPGA despite a car accident that had put her out of action for a few weeks earlier in the season. Finishing in fourth place was Ju Kim. Kim had finished but $210 out of a card, also in fourth place, in 2001; but in 2003, the top five get cards (before only the top three did), so this time her performance was good enough to earn full exemption. She had a win and 8 top tens in 2003. Congratulations, ladies!

Ju Kim and Soo Young Moon

Jane Park runner up at US Women's Championship
Much like the US Girl's Championship held a few weeks ago, the US Women's Championship, one of the top events in women's amateur golf, yielded two Koreans in the final four. In Bee-Park, the sensational junior player who had finished as the runner up at the Girl's Championship, was matched against former NCAA champion Virada Nirapathpongporn, while Jane Park, another talented Korean-American junior player (16 years old) from California, went against Paula Creamer. Jane won her match despite great play from Creamer, thanks to some of the best putting you could hope to see. Time and again she saved par or made birdies from a distance, thoroughly demoralizing her opponent. In-Bee, meanwhile, put up a good fight but was not able to best the talented Nirapathpongporn. In the finals, the score seesawed back and forth all day, first Jane then Virada gaining the upper hand. Eventually, though, Virada took control and won. But Jane Park, who had won a prestigious junior event just the week before and had also done well at the Juniors and the US Women's Open (where she finished 30th), has established herself as yet another Korean player to watch over the next few years.

Jane Park battled to a runner-up finish
AP Photo/Chris Gardner

Grace's hair is getting some attention
these days!

Grace gets new advertising contract
Grace Park has signed with Proctor and Gamble to appear in commercials for Pantene shampoo. Apparently a commercial has already been shot with her and will begin appearing within the month. She earned 200 million won (around $180,000) for the ads, which will be shown over the next 9 months. The article I read was nonspecific about whether the ads would be shown only in Korea or if they would also be shown in the States.

Money List
Another great two weeks for Hee-Won Han, as she won a second time, collected another second place, and moved to fifth on the money list. Se Ri, meanwhile, took advantage of the idle Grace Park and, with a win at the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic, moved back into second on the money list. This also marks the third straight year she has exceeded the 1 million dollar mark in earnings. Mi Hyun Kim's finish at the Farr moved her back into the top 20 as well.

2.

Se Ri Pak $1,110,958.00 (+$150,000)
3. Grace Park $1,009,009.00 (+$0)
5. Hee-Won Han $897,594.00 (+$244,364)
20. Mi Hyun Kim $386,513.00 (+$62,209)
24. Jeong Jang $367,290.00 (+$5,364)
32. Soo-Yun Kang $259,500.00 (+$8,823)
41. Christina Kim $184,314.00 (+$2,229)
42. Young Kim $176,445.00 (+$6,676)
50. Gloria Park $149,014.00 (+$7,907)
69. Jung Yeon Lee $86,229.00 (+$26,438)
74. Young-A Yang $80,364.00 (+$7,864)
       
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