Ahn's Major Breakthrough

On the next hole, Sorenstam made a ridiculous 60 foot birdie putt; even she realized that it was a bit unbelievable, as she patted her chest in mock relief. But Ahn was not going to go away just yet. She hit a gorgeous iron on the par 4 15th to just a couple of feet and drained the birdie to move to 9 under, back to within two shots of the leader.

Gloria Park, who was playing with Shi Hyun, was not able to move past 7 under par, but Grace was another story. She had birdies on 12 and 13 and found herself at 8 under, just three shots out of the lead. She hit a perfect drive on 15 (265 yards with almost no run on the soaked fairways), and was well positioned to go for the green. But her iron was well short, and it provoked a rare dust-up between Grace and her caddie. Apparently Grace felt he had given her the wrong club for the shot at hand. Grace ended up bogeying the hole to fall back to 8 under.

Grace waves to the fans during round 4
(Reuters)

Shi Hyun kept fighting throughout the
final day. The entire time she
believed she could catch Sorenstam

But Grace Park didn't get where she is because she can't handle adversity. She hit a fantastic drive on the par 5 16th, then planted a fairway wood to within 6 feet of the hole for her second shot. It was an absolutely spectacular shot, incredibly high, that stopped on a dime from 220 yards out. She went on to make the eagle to keep her hopes alive.

A few minutes earlier, Gloria and Shi Hyun had played the same hole. They were not able to reach the green in two, but Shi Hyun put her wedge to within 6 feet and then drained the clutch birdie to move to 10 under. Sorenstam made another birdie, again a putt from the fringe, to move to 12 under. Shi Hyun would not go away. What had looked like a walk in the park for Annika two hours before was turning into a real battle, as both Shi Hyun and Grace played superlative golf to try to reel Sorenstam in.

On the par 3 17, Shi Hyun hit another fantastic iron to within about 8 feet. She had the birdie chance, and a birdie here would move her to within one of the lead. But it was a trifle too fast, and she had to settle for par. Grace then played the hole, but her iron was short in the greenside bunker. She hit a wonderful out and easily made par (this is a particularly deep bunker, so her shot was very good under the circumstances), but Grace was running out of holes and she knew it.

Meanwhile, Sorenstam hit a terrible drive on the par 5 16th, removing eagle from the equation. She was so far off line that she hit her second shot down the neighboring 11th fairway. But this left her a third shot over the trees. In all likelihood she would get par, but a bogey was not out of the question. Shi Hyun and even Grace still had life in them.

On 18, Shi Hyun hit another sterling approach, but it bounced off the green into the rough. To the end, however, she was determined to try to win this thing. She hit her chip solidly and right at the hole, thinking 'sink it' the whole way. It hit the flag, but was too hard and bounced out, rolling six feet past the hole. Not to worry: she hit her return par to finish at 10 under. Her 66 was the low score of the final round. Now it was a waiting game.

But she didn't have to wait long. Annika pulled another rabbit out of her hat, hitting her pitch over the trees to within a few feet of the hole and making birdie. She made another birdie on 17, and even a bogey on the last was not enough to derail her win. Grace also bogied the last, but still collected a third place finish, her fifth straight top ten in a Major. For those keeping track, that is the longest stretch of consecutive top tens in Majors by anyone in the league right now (yes, including Annika). Grace's time will come again soon.

And so will Shi Hyun's. Her second place finish at only her second ever Major will doubtless raise her profile even more. It solidifies her standing in the Rookie of the Year race, and moves her up the money list to 9th.

But more than the money, Shi Hyun also provided a real example this week of joy of playing. Throughout the tense ordeal, the smile rarely left her face. She kept slugging, kept pressing, and kept producing great results. Fans in America are starting to see what makes this player so special. And the good news is, we have a lot more years to come to watch her blossom.

Shi Hyun missed a few key putts late by the
barest of margins