Se Ri played with Kelly Robbins and Kelli Kuehne the first two rounds. Both of those players had Solheim Cup on their minds; this was the last week a player could gain points towards making that squad. And as a result, both had some problems, which probably didn't help Se Ri. Robbins in particular struggled. She started with a decent 69, but then plunged with a miserable 83 in the second round. That can't have helped Se Ri's concentration too much! Se Ri, meanwhile, played steadily but unspectacularly. She only hit half her fairways on the first day, but at least part of that was due to her absolutely bombing the ball off the tee; she averaged 290 yards on her measured drives on Thursday. She still hit 13 greens, though, and as a result, after an unfortunate bogey to start her day, picked things up and birdied 13, 15 and 16 to start 2 under on her front nine (which was the course's back nine this day). Alas, her putting left her on the back, and she made nine of nine pars coming in. So she finished with a 2 under 70, which left her four shots out of the lead in 14th place. The Koreans who led after round one were Soo-Yun Kang, and, amazingly, Sunny Lee, who both shot 4 under 68. For Sunny, it was her career best round on the LPGA, and left the two of them in a tie for 2nd.

Se Ri looked sharp in this ensemble in round 2
Reuters/Tim Shaffer

A remarkably similar shot of Se Ri, but this
time from round 3
Reuters/Tim Shaffer

By the time Se Ri started in the afternoon on Friday, the lead had been extended out to 8 under par. Se Ri did not help herself by struggling again on the front nine (which she was playing first this day). After suffering through a cold putter through the first few holes, she missed a couple of greens on 6 and 7, and bogeyed both holes. Suddenly she was at even par, 8 shots out of the lead. Meanwhile, Sunny Lee, the Korean player with the most hard luck among all of them, was at 5 under. It was Freaky Friday to be sure, with the Korean players with the best and worst records on tour suddenly changing places.

Starting from hole 8, though, Se Ri would not miss another green the rest of the day. And though her putting was still hardly sublime, she gave herself many birdie opportunities, cashing in on 10 and the par 5 holes 16 and 18. So she again shot under par, although just a one under par 71. This left her at 3 under for the tournament. Meanwhile, Meg Mallon had a fantastic round, a 6 under par 66 that moved her to 10 under, seven shots clear of Se Ri. After 18 holes, Se Ri found herself still in 14th place, but now much farther out of the lead. Things looked grim for a successful defense.

But in 2002, it had not been until the weekend that Se Ri had come alive at this event, and the same thing happened in 2003. Paired with short hitting Jamie Hullett, Se Ri put together a decent 2 under front nine. On the back she made another birdie on 13, but gave that back with a sloppy three putt on 14 following an iron that left her just too far from the pin to make a two putt a given. She was at 5 under when she hit the par 5 16th. But from here on in, she took full advantage of her length and strength. She started with a birdie on 16 to move back to 6 under. She then birdied the 17th, an important achievement, for that hole had been playing tough all day. She concluded with a great approach shot on 18 which left her in the front bunker. From there, it was a straightforward up and down for her third straight birdie. Which would have been impressive, except that Karrie Webb had just shot 5 straight birdies to finish and move to 9 under. Webb's 65 made her the big mover of the day, but also posting a great round was Candie Kung, the Taiwanese who probably should be nicknamed Typhoon Candie, except she'd probably be too embarrassed to accept it. Kung posted a 6 under 66 to move into sole possession of the lead at 12 under. Still, Se Ri had to be encouraged. Four shots out of the lead at 8 under, in 5th place, it had to feel to her much like it had in 2002. Did she have another sensational Sunday in her?

Se Ri had her game face on Sunday