2003 Year in Review

May (cont.)

Kellogg's/Keebler Classic: Kimmie's turn to shine (May 30 - Jun 1)
Grace Park struggled again, missing her second cut of the year. Fortunately, Hee-Won Han and Mi Hyun Kim, the other two Seoul Sisters present at this event, both played well. Unfortunately, this is one of Annika's favorite tournaments, and though she played a lackluster Sunday round, she had too much of a lead in the first two rounds to be overcome. Still, it was one of Peanut's best showings all year, with a 66 on Friday matched by a flawless 67 on Sunday. She wound up third. Hee-Won contributed a 7th place finish herself. Any hope that the previous week's Colonial tournament would slow Annika down were dashed.

Peanut at the Keebler

June

Style, Poise and Grace, as exhibited
at the 2003 LPGA Championship

Grace almost wins her first Major (so close!), and engages in a real fight with Se Ri over who will become the best Korean on tour.

McDonald's LPGA Championship: Grace Stands Tall (June 5 - 8)
It's ironic that the two biggest heartbreakers of the year both came in Majors that Annika won. We have heard a lot about how Annika was only a couple shots away from a Grand Slam in 2003 (not really true, since she would have had to play and win the 18 hole playoff at the Open even if she did make it into the playoff); but she was also only a couple shots away from winning *no* Majors. And the closest call of all came in this, the second Major of the year.

It started out being the Hee-Won Han show. With Se Ri Pak playing some terrible golf, the defending champion was never a factor all week. But Hee-Won stepped up, leading for two rounds. Then the bad weather started to catch up with her. Forced to play a lot of golf in one day, she struggled, and slowly slid off the leader board. She was replaced by Annika, who by this point had a sizable lead and looked like she would waltz to her first win in this event.

But slowly, inexorably, Grace moved up the leaderboard. Eventually she caught Sorenstam, but was not able to get the one extra shot she needed to win it outright. Thus, she ended up in her first LPGA playoff, which she lost on the first hole. But Grace impressed, not only by proving she COULD contend in a Major, but that she could do it with class, even signing autographs for fans while she waited for Sorenstam to finish her round.

Young Kim and Young-A Yang also impressed by both notching top tens in this Major (they both were tied for 6th), while Han just missed her first career top ten in a Major, ending up 11th.

Giant Eagle Classic: Mighty Minny Makes a Move (June 13 - 15)
One of the Korean players who gets a lot less publicity is Minny Yeo. She has not had a lot of great results in her career, but she has been working at it, and things have been getting better. In this event she managed, for the second time in her career, to take the lead after the first round. Minny was not able to maintain that level of play, but she did not play badly, either, and finished 35th, one of her best finishes on the LPGA tour.

Meanwhile, Se Ri Pak rebounded from her horrible week at the McDonald's with a 5th place finish. She put herself into a position to win, only three shots out of the lead with one round to go, but did not seem to have the confidence this week to pull it off. Still, a worthy effort.

Minny took the Round One lead

Grace finished third in Rochester

Wegman's Rochester LPGA: Grace and Se Ri Duke it Out Again (June 19 - 22)
Another chapter in the developing rivalry between Se Ri and Grace happened in Rochester, as both managed top ten finishes, but Grace finished just a little better (3rd vs. 4th) to capture the lead over Se Ri on the money list.

Neither played all that well going into the final day, but had still managed to put themselves into position to win. Grace in particular was having a hard time hitting fairways, while Se Ri seemed to be in a bit of a putting slump. But on Sunday, Grace charged up the leaderboard, and just missed an eagle putt that could have given her a shot at the win. Still, she finished with a final round 68. Se Ri needed a birdie on the last to tie Grace and thus keep ahead of her on the money list, but just missed. The rivalry was getting hotter!

JJ at the ShopRite

ShopRite Classic: Jang Steps Up (June 27 - 29)
This was another LPGA event lacking in Korean star power, as Se Ri, Mi Hyun, Grace and Hee-Won all skipped it to prepare for the Open. Jeong Jang had a tough go of it, but hung in there for an 8th place finish, maintaining the streak of top tens (albeit barely). Soo Young Moon, who was doing quite well on the Futures Tour, notched her first LPGA top 20 with an 18th place finish.

Meanwhile...

Over on the Futures Tour, another Korean player grabbed a win. This time it was Ju Kim, and her win at the Ann Arbor Futures Golf Classic allowed her to maintain her lead on the money list. With Soo Young Moon sitting near the top of the money list as well, the Koreans were well represented (although we later learned that around this time Moon was involved in a car accident that set her back several weeks).

And Michelle Wie finally won an important amateur event, taking the Pub Links Championship by beating former NCAA Champion Virada Nirapathpongporn in the finals. Wie got a bit of help when Virada missed a very short par putt on one of the last holes to allow Wie to win one up. But a win is a win!