Nabisco 2003: Notes from Mission Hills

Grace misses the cut
If Se Ri had a disappointing first Major of the year, Grace Park had a downright disastrous one. Coming into this event off of two top four performances, Grace looked for all the world ready to at last make a statement in a Major. But her very first hole of the week made the kind of statement she did not want to make: a dire triple bogey 7 that, rumor has it, included a four putt. She was never able to recover from that, alas, and ended up missing the cut. Considering how bad her scores were, though, she only missed it by one shot; just a little more luck and she might have been able to squeak in.

Meanwhile, Mi Hyun Kim had her own struggles, coming close herself to missing the cut before she recovered somewhat on Saturday. Alas, she had a poor Sunday and finished well back. This thus marks the first time all year that none of the Korean pros managed a top ten, although Korean American Michelle Wie, an amateur, did finish ninth. However, an impressive seven Korean, half Korean or Korean Americans finished in the top 30, including Wie and fellow Thai Korean amateur Aree Song, who ended up tied for 28th.

Aree Song

Go go Ko!
You may have noticed another Korean name on the leaderboard. Finishing in 11th, second highest finish for a Korean player, was veteran Woo Soon Ko. Those who read the first issue of this magazine may remember her name from the coverage of the Maruhan Cup: Ko, in her forties, has played professional golf for twenty years and has amassed an impressive record. She currently plays on the JLPGA, where she won a Major last year. She has had success on the LPGA, too: she finished 7th at last year's CJ 9 Bridges Classic, the Korean LPGA event.

Peanut injured?
A rumor going around is that Mi Hyun Kim injured her leg getting out of a car before the third round of the Nabisco. Apparently the wound has healed nicely, as she played the next week at the Office Depot.

Aree achievement
Lost in the hype about Michelle Wie was a little bit of history for 16 year old Aree Song. Aree became the youngest amateur in history to make four consecutive cuts at the same Major. Let's hope she can make it five next year!

Other Photos from the First Major of 2003
Se Ri and Mi Hyun played a practice round together earlier in the week. Despite the seriousness of their preparations, they managed to have some fun!

Courtesy LPGA.COM