Fairways and Greens

South Korea 4th in World Amateur Team Championship
The Women's World Amateur Team Championship took place in Puerto Rico, ending on October 23rd. The South Korean contingent, as you can imagine, consisted of three solid and young players, many probably facing their first major international competition (in Korea, players frequently turn pro by the time they are 16 or 17, so that winnows down the field of available amateur talent quite a bit).

The final result was that Sweden took the crown, holding off a hard charging American team. The winning total for the team was 9 under. The American team included Paula Creamer and Jane Park, and though they came in second, Jane managed the third best individual score for the week of all the golfers competing, a four under par total over four rounds (Creamer was 7th).

Korea, meanwhile, finished well back at +3, but that was still good for a tie for 4th with Japan and Taiwan. Hee Young Park and Sun Young Yoo tied for best individual scores on the team with a +5 total for four rounds (that ranked 16th overall). The third teammate, Song Hee Kim, finished 40th.

Congratulations to them, and best of luck in their future activities! Perhaps we will be hearing from one or more of those ladies in the next few years.

Jane Park winning the US Women's Amateur

Fashion trends set by Sisters!
You may have noticed that, besides being very talented golfers, most of the Korean players also are very stylish out on the links. Soo Yun Kang's nickname is even 'the Fashion Model of the Fairways', thanks to her thin build and natty duds. Mi Hyun Kim, meanwhile, represents a golfwear company called Kim Young Joo, and Aree Song another company called BeanPole Golf. But recently the biggest fashion trends in golfwear in Korea have been set off by Christina Kim and Shi Hyun Ahn. Ahn, whose fashion sponsor is ELord (yet another Korean player with a clothes sponsor), has started a trend in Korea with her corduroy hats. Apparently in many top department stores in Korea, these are flying off the shelves. Christina Kim, who does not have a sponsor (yet!), has likewise started a trend with her trademark berets, which the Koreans refer to as 'hunting caps' over there.

Which Korean will start the next fashion craze? Personally, I'm betting on Se Ri's hoop earrings from the CJ 9 Bridges, but we'll have to wait and see!

Korean Women are taking over the world
Hey, you knew that already, didn't you? But apparently it's news to some people, and one of them is herself Korean American. Apparently, the newspaper writer Amy Moon just came to this realization the other day, while talking about how many Korean golfers there are on the LPGA tour. Well, she decided to write an article about it, and though she primarily focuses on Michelle Wie (not yet an LPGA player!), she does mention Se Ri. Actually, it's a pretty interesting article, and talks about a lot of the same factors that made the Seoul Sisters so good (oh, and by the way, she also mentions SeoulSisters.com!!).

If you want to check it out, the link is:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/archive/2004/10/29/korean.DTL

Money List
Grace at last managed her second win of the year, which vaulted her to 2nd place on the money list. In all likelihood, she can remain at least 3rd, and if she continues to outplay Lorena Ochoa as she has been, perhaps 2nd. Se Ri Pak had a pretty good week at the 9 Bridges, though she missed the top ten. Jeong Jang, meanwhile, moved into the top ten on the money list, marking the first time there have been five Koreans in the top ten this late in the season. Top tens by Soo Yun Kang and Young Kim also allowed them to solidify their positions in the mid-40s. A top 40 finish on the year end money list is good for a two year exemption on tour, so they have a definite goal to shoot for.