2003 Year in Review

August (cont.)

Wachovia Betsy King Classic: Another Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda (August 21 - 24)
In 2002, Se Ri had one of her greatest victories at this event, playing a virtually flawless final round to capture the event and set the tournament record. But in the first two rounds in 2003, it was Se Ri who struggled, while Sunny Lee, perhaps the Korean player with the least success in America, was near the top of the leaderboard!

However, as in 2002, Se Ri improved on the weekend, shooting a 5 under par 67 to move to within four shots of the leaders. But once again, Candie Kung was at the top of the leader board following a 6 under par 66.

Se Ri had the crowd with her as she blistered the front nine, eventually moving into a tie for the lead after a birdie on 10. Karrie Webb and Kung were both melting down, and soon Se Ri was in the lead all by herself. But then she had two terrible holes, and Kung rebounded with three birdies, and despite Se Ri's best efforts, she was still behind Kung. She made it interesting with an eagle on 18, but it was too little, too late. Se Ri finished second.

Grace finished 8th, and Sunny Lee had her career best finish, 29th.

Se Ri nails a final hole eagle

Hee-Won plays out of the mud at
the Rail golf course

State Farm Rail Classic: Han Wins the Series (August 28 - 31)
Coming into the final event in the State Farm Series, Se Ri Pak had the lead. As long as one of the players who were near her didn't beat her by too much, she would capture the series for the first time since her rookie season.

Unfortunately for Se Ri, Candie Kung continued her torrid play, and after two rounds, Se Ri was in 13th but 8 shots out of the lead. And Hee-Won Han, who had been on fire the last month herself, was now four shots up on Se Ri and in good position to steal the Series title.

Things tightened up in the third round, when the weather was less than ideal. Despite struggling much of the day, Kung held on to a slim lead over Laura Davies and Hee-Won. Hee-Won had her chances, but just couldn't get it done. Se Ri was still 4 shots behind Han.

Then, just like that, the final round was canceled due to the weather, and Kung had her third win of the year. With a third place finish in the event, Han finished just far enough ahead of Se Ri to capture the Series Crown. Se Ri finished 9th.

September

John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic: Hammon it Up (September 5 - 7)
Another event that, in retrospect, Se Ri should probably have blown off. She had been playing a lot of events in a row, and she had barely made the cut in the 2002 version of this event (it would be her worst finish of 2002).

This year she did slightly better, but like everyone in the field, she was blown out of the water by Karrie Webb, who was channeling her previous greatness for at least one week. Se Ri's final result was 6th.

Se Ri in bunker trouble in Tulsa

In the end, Grace couldn't pull out the win

The Korean Open: Homeward Bound (Early September)
The Korean Open, arguably the biggest event played on the KLPGA each year, tends to attract a few of the top LPGA stars to play every year. Last year, it was Juli Inkster, Se Ri and Gloria Park who made the journey to participate. This year, Grace Park, Hee-Won Han and Soo Yun Kang did it. As well, Aree Song, who had recently announced her desire to turn pro, did so at this event. She would not be going to college with her twin sister Naree, as she had promised.

The event went well for the Sisters, but none of them were able to beat surprise winner Bo Pae Song, a 17 year old amateur. Grace did best, finishing third, but was done in by a bad first round In fact, she was tied for the lead with only a few holes to go, but bogeyed three of the remaining holes. Still, not bad for Grace's first *ever* KLPGA tournament. Hee-Won had a weak tournament, finishing in a tie for 9th with Aree Song, while Soo Yun Kang managed a 5th place overall.

Meanwhile...

Safeway Classic: The ladies have a lot to say! (September 26- 28)
The third and final event covered by this magazine was the Safeway Classic. And this time, I got a few interviews while I was there. The interviews were published over a period of a month in three different issues. The first one, published in early October, was with Christina Kim, the sensational rookie. You can find that interview by clicking here.

Meanwhile, the event itself was a mixed bag. Beth Daniel took over the event with a course record 62 on day one. But after Saturday's action, several Korean players were poised to make a run. Soo Yun Kang was only two shots out of the lead at seven under. Grace was at 6 under, and Se Ri was only four shots back at 5 under.

Alas, none of the Koreans were able to keep up with Annika Sorenstam, Cristie Kerr and Beth Daniel on Sunday. Still, Se Ri managed a 6th place finish, Grace a 9th, and 5 other Korean players finished better than 20th.

Se Ri chills during the first round
SeoulSisters.com photo

Young Kim with her trophy

Meanwhile, the same week, Young Kim was competing in a KLPGA tournament sponsored by her chief sponsor, Shinsegae. And she won it! Young would go on to finish second in the LPGA's Rookie of the Year race, ahead of such noted players as Christina Kim and Suzann Pettersen (as well as players like Raquel Carriedo, Paula Marti and Jimin Kang, none of whom lived up to their promise from the start of the year).

At this same time, a rumor started that Annika Sorenstam would not play in enough tournaments to qualify for the Vare Trophy. She needed to have at least 70 competitive rounds of golf by the end of the year. In order to make that number, she would have to play every remaining event, and when she skipped the Longs Drugs Challenge, it suddenly became doubtful she would do it. This meant that Se Ri was now poised to win her first post season honor since her rookie year.