2003 Year in Review

November

Mizuno Classic: More second place finishes (November 7 - 9)
What'cha gonna do? Se Ri and Grace Park played a pair of wonderful tournaments in Japan at the Mizuno Classic. And it just didn't matter. Because Annika Sorenstam had another one of her out of body experiences, and racked up back to back 63 en route to a dominating victory. Se Ri and Grace both ended up tied for second at 15 under par, and got utterly crushed.

A total of 6 Korean players made it into the top ten, including Jung Yeon Lee, who had been on fire ever since her near win at the Longs Drugs the previous month. She tied for 7th with Gloria Park; Soo Yun Kang got her final top ten of the year, a 9th., and Christina Kim her second top ten, a 10th. For Christina, it was two top tens all year: in her first and in her last event of 2003!

Grace finished second two years in a row
at the Mizuno

Young Kim was all smiles after winning again

Young Kim wins in Korea again
Just a couple of months after winning the Shinsegae tournament on the KLPGA tour, Young Kim returned to Korea and defended her crown in the SBS Pro Golf Masters Ladies Tournament. What do you know? She won again! She continued to show that she has what it takes to win; now she needs to give herself a few more chances to do it on the LPGA stage.

Meanwhile, Seoul Sisters Magazine published the third and final Portland interview in November. This one was with none other than Seoul Sister Grace Park! Fins out everything you ever wanted to know about Grace by clicking here!

Mobile Tournament of Champions: No Threepeat (November 13 - 16)
Se Ri Pak had a chance to three-peat at a single event for the first time in her career. She came into this event having won in both 2001 and 2002, and both times in commanding fashion. She clearly loved this course, but the wear and tear of playing the men's event and two other events (both of which she finished in second place) finally took its toll. She would finish 11th, the first time since July that she did not finish in the top ten. The harsh weather did not help her; she made two triple bogey 8's this week, something you never see her do under normal circumstances.

Stepping into the void were Mi Hyun Kim and Hee-Won Han. Both had a chance to win, but Kimmie fell just short. Han was several shots behind leader Dorothy Delasin, but Delasin, despite numerous birdie chances, was not sinking anything, and Han managed to tie her by the end of regulation. In the playoff, Hee-Won's birdie putt came up just short, and this time Delasin made hers to steal yet another title away from a Korean player (usually it's Se Ri who is her victim). Hee-Won did not get a chance to win in front of her fiancé, who was there watching her in person for the first time.

One other note: Shi Hyun Ahn got to play in this event thanks to a lot of effort from her sponsor and the Korean consulate. She finished 28th.

Hee-Won just missed her birdie putt in
the playoff

Se Ri at the ADT

ADT Championship: Vare Trophy showdown (November 20 - 23)
Se Ri was not in the kind of shape she usually would be to contend at this event. Played on a very tough course and in windy conditions to boot, it proved trying for everyone in the field. Yet she was leading after ten holes, only to collapse and fall back after that. After two rounds, she was only one shot out of the lead, but had established a lead over Grace Park that would have made it very tough for Grace to win the Vare Trophy. Grace needed to beat Se Ri by at least 7 shots to capture the Trophy away from Se Ri.

Unfortunately, Annika took over the event in round 3 and moved to four shots ahead of Se Ri. Se Ri did not have it in her to catch Sorenstam (who eventually lost anyway), but she did finish 5th. The Vare Trophy race turned out to be closer than expected, as Grace recovered from a poor start with a pair of 69s on the weekend that moved her to only one shot behind Se Ri. Still, it was good enough for Se Ri to win her first Vare Trophy. The 2003 LPGA season was over.

In the end, Se Ri Pak finished second on the money list, but was one win short of making it into the Hall of Fame. Grace extended her streak of top ten events to ten in a row, and finished the season in third place on the money list, with 19 top tens. She also got a chance to play in the ADT pro-am with Hootie of Hootie and the Blowfish, who couldn't stop gushing about how much fun Grace was to play with.

As if that weren't enough, the accolades kept coming for Grace. The LPGA decided to appoint her as a nonvoting member to their Board of Directors. That's quite an honor for a 24 year old player, and hopefully Grace will be able to represent the points of view of the Korean and Asian players well.

December

Check out this issue for details on what has happened to the Sisters since the Season ended! It's been a busy time, what with Hee-Won Han's wedding, Se Ri appearing on TV and in a modeling show, Grace Park joining a monastery and renouncing all worldly possessions (gotcha! I just wanted to see if you were paying attention!), the Wendy's 3 Tour Challenge, and more. Here's hoping 2004 proves just as exciting!