Other Notes from Mobile

Grace once again
Now that Se Ri Pak's top ten streak has ended at 12 straight, is there anyone else who can step into the void? How about Grace Park, whose own top ten streak is 9 straight after finishing fourth at the Mobile Tournament of Champions. Like has happened so many times this year, Grace struggled in the first round, improved a bit on Friday, blistered the course on the weekend, yet somehow missed a few key shots just when she needed them. Her Thursday round of 75 was fairly typical for the treacherous conditions that day (the average for all players was 74.5). Not typical was her start, which included four straight bogeys on holes 3 through 6 (including both front nine par 5s). She only hit 9 greens on Friday, but improved to an even par 72 and a 3 over par total. On Saturday she got a chance to get some back. Her front nine was an 8 par one birdie affair, but on the back she pounced, producing five birdies in six holes to end up shooting a 67 and move to 2 under par. She played her final round with Mi Hyun Kim, who started the day one shot ahead of Grace but finished it in a dead heat at 6 under par. Grace might have been even lower; for a time she was well placed to catch the leaders, producing four birdies in the first eight holes. But a double bogey on 9 changed everything, and even three later birdies were not enough for her to catch Dorothy Delasin and Hee-Won Han.

Grace during round 3
Reuters/Tami Chappell

Still, this marks Grace's 18th top ten of the year, and more importantly, she has now moved within striking distance of Se Ri for the Vare Trophy. Indeed, she is the only player left who has a reasonable chance of stealing the trophy away from her. If they play well, Se Ri has to be within 6 shots of Grace at the ADT Tour Championship, the final event of the year, to maintain the cup. If they both play poorly, Se Ri needs only be within 7 shots. This could get very interesting...

Shi Hyun Ahn
Korea's Golf Cinderella did not have the greatest of events at the Mobile Tournament of Champions. But considering this was her first time ever in the States, and that she had never before played the types of grasses she faced here, her performance was not so bad. She ended up shooting 79 on the first day, a pair of 75s, and a closing 77. Particularly disastrous was a five hole bogey stretch on the back nine on Thursday that effectively ended any thought she would have of contending. Still, she kept her smile, and the media in Korea welcomed her back excitedly a few days later. And she even got a chance to be interviewed by Val Skinner on the Golf Channel! Though she still needs an interpreter (doubtless because she was not expecting to be playing in America so soon), her nice smile and good cheer was infectious. And she still pocketed $10,000+, which is a pretty good paycheck by any standards! She will be a welcome addition to the LPGA next year.

A capsule of Shi Hyun's week
Reuters/Tami Chappell