Capsule Review: Mizuno Classic

Every year, the Mizuno Classic, which is currently the only LPGA event held in Japan, is something of a free ride for Annika Sorenstam. For whatever reason, Annika absolutely adores the course this is played on, and plays so well there that the rest of the field has next to no chance to beat her. Two years ago, Se Ri Pak gave her a good run, but Annika nonetheless took the title. However, last year it got downright ridiculous. Despite the fact both Se Ri and Grace Park put together solid opening rounds on Friday and Saturday, and under normal conditions would have been in contention for the title, Annika shot back to back 63s and was so far ahead she could have absorbed a couple of slow play penalties to take a break during her round for sushi and still easily won. And indeed, the final result was a rout, a 9 shot win. Se Ri and Grace had to settle for second place finishes, while Annika collected her third straight win at the event.

Se Ri needed bodyguards at last year's
Mizuno Classic; she often
employs them when in Asia

This year, Se Ri chose to play at the ADT-CAPS
Invitational instead of attending the Mizuno

Young Kim

Alas, perhaps Se Ri, who has had a weak 2004, was not in the mood to repeat that experience, or perhaps she just preferred to play in front of her home country fans, but for whatever reason, she decided to play in the KLPGA event taking place the same week instead of going to another Mizuno Classic. Grace, however, valiantly took another shot at Annika. But it was all for naught. By the end of the first round, Annika had once again amassed a 63, the third time in her previous four rounds she had done so. Grace shot a respectable 67 and found herself already four shots back. And the rest of the week went pretty much the same way. By Sunday, Annika had won her fourth consecutive Mizuno, once again winning by nine shots. Is there any point in even holding this event anymore? She could have been hit by a meteor during Sunday's round and probably still found a way to win the thing.

Still, the news was not all bad for the Seoul Sisters. Grace continued to play great, but as far as she was concerned, the best news was that Lorena Ochoa had a sub-par event. As a result, Grace beat her by a full ten strokes. That was good enough for her to surpass her in the scoring race. Grace's average dropped to 69.79, a truly jaw dropping total better than all but one of Se Ri Pak's season ending totals (Ochoa was now nearly a tenth of a point behind her). She also extended her lead over Ochoa to $75,000 on the money list, increasing the probability she would end up second on this year's money list (and confirming that she would end up no worse than third).

The scoring became very significant in that, for the second straight year, Annika Sorenstam skipped the Tournament of Champions, making her ineligible for the Vare Trophy by not playing enough total rounds during the year. Thus, Grace now had a lead, and a great chance to win her first ever Vare Trophy. But there were still two events remaining.

Another player who managed a great finish was Young Kim, who added a third top ten to her 2004 resume with a 7th place finish. This she accomplished by shooting a 65, one of the low rounds of the day, on Sunday. But another player played even better. She is 18 year old Japanese sensation Ai Miyazato. Miyazato shot the low round of the day, a 63, but apparently that included a two shot penalty. She still finished tied for second, but the mind reels at the though of an 18 year old who almost shot a 61 in an LPGA event. If she shows up at the Pinx Cup (the annual Korea-Japan competition) this year, things could get very interesting!

Capsule Review: Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions

Once upon a time, the Tournament of Champions was the stronghold of Se Ri Pak. In 2001, she decimated the field. By mid day Sunday, she had a ten shot lead, and perhaps took it a bit too easy after that, allowing Lorie Kane to creep back to within five. Still, it was a domination, another example of her brilliance at the time. By 2002, she had a tougher go of it. Although she played even better, finishing with a tournament record 20 under par, it was not as easy as 2001 had been. She had to put together one of her patented brilliant Sunday performances to hold off Annika and a few other players (Annika, who usually skips this event, had shown up to try to increase her season win total to possibly surpass the all time record on the LPGA tour. Didn't happen). Another win for Se Ri, her fourth of that year (she added one more the following week in Korea). In 2003, however, she not only did not capture her third straight event, she failed to make the top ten (although she missed it by one putt, finishing 11th). It was the only time in her final 14 events of 2003 that she did not get a top ten.

In 2004, struggling with her game and offered a perhaps once-in-a-lifetime chance to participate in a Skins Game with Tiger Woods, she decided to skip the event and the rest of the LPGA season (which consisted of this event and the Tour Championship the following week). It just wasn't the same without her. Mi Hyun Kim also decided to end her season early and remain in Korea. That left Gloria Park, Grace Park, Shi Hyun Ahn, Hee-Won Han and Christina Kim to try to uphold the honor of the Sisters in Alabama.

Well, the first round started out in familiar fashion. By the end of it, Christina Kim found herself in a position she had already been in several times in 2004: the lead. Her six under 66 gave her a share of the first round lead when all was said and done. Remarkably, it was the fifth time she had managed the feat in 2004. Grace Park, meanwhile, got off to a good start, and coming into the last few holes was a respectable 3 under par. Then, as suddenly as turning on a light switch, she kicked things into a higher gear. On the par 5 16th, she hit a solid bunker shot for her third and drained the putt to move to 4 under. Then on the tricky par 3 17th hole, she hit a superlative iron from 155 yards to 6 feet; another birdie. She followed that with another laserlike iron on the 18th hole to about the same distance for a third straight birdie. And just like that, Grace, too, had a share of the lead. It's hard to believe that two months ago, she had never led after the first round this season. With this round, she now held the lead or a share after the first round in four of her previous five events.

Se Ri has won the Tournament of Champions
twice. Here she is in 2002

But in 2004, she chose to play against Tiger Woods
instead

Christina Kim took some massive divots
during round 2

On Saturday, Christina was paired with Lorena
Ochoa

Hee-Won Han charged hard, but the gap was
too much to overcome

Unfortunately, that was pretty much all the good news for Grace and Christina for the rest of the week. Grace revealed that she had been on the go for six straight events. And it was not just that she had played so much, but that the events had been so geographically distant, that finally seemed to catch up with her on Friday. A look at her itinerary: the Asahi Ryokuken in Georgia, then the Samsung in California. Then she flew to China to participate in a Skins Game with Annika. Then to Korea to win the CJ 9 Bridges. Next to Japan for the Mizuno, then to Las Vegas to play two days of the Wendy's Three Tour Challenge (to be broadcast in December). On Wednesday, she made it into Mobile just in time for the Tournament of Champions, where she promptly, without much practice, shot a 6 under par 66. But on Friday, she looked tired, and made un-Grace Park like mistakes all over the place. The kind of mistakes you make when your concentration is not all there. She had a double bogey on 8, then another on 12 when she hit her approach well over the green into the woods behind it. Though she managed several birdies as well, she ended up with a one over par 73, one of the weakest rounds she had shot in months. By 18, she looked too weary to even wave at the crowd. But she would bounce back.

Christina, meanwhile, had a chance that she loves: to be miked for television. As usual, she provided many an unpredictable moment. She barked at her ball, argued with her dad, cheered her good shots, and even let a swear word or two get loose. It might not have been entirely PG rated, but it was entertaining. But despite her efforts, she only corralled at 2 under par 70. That kept her in third place, but now three shots behind Laura Diaz.

With Shi Hyun Ahn and Gloria Park struggling elsewhere, that left only Hee-Won Han, and she made a run to get herself onto the leaderboard with a four under par 68. She now sat at 5 under, tied for ninth. Hee-Won had been struggling of late, but a good performance at the Mizuno helped her. Hee-Won, as some may not know, got her start not on the KLPGA but on the JLPGA, where she was Rookie of the Year in 1998. She speaks fluent Japanese and has always felt comfortable playing there (you may also recall that she made a serious run at the World Match Play title held in Japan in 2002, before losing in the semifinals in overtime to Midori Yoneyama). She carried her good play from Japan over to this week.

On the weekend, Grace managed a bounce back 68 on Saturday to move back into the top ten, but on Sunday, things completely collapsed for her. She barfed up an astonishing three double bogeys during her round, and in general looked like she did not want to be out there. She kept fighting, but in the end carded a disastrous 5 over par 77. She was just lucky that Lorena Ochoa was also hurting thanks to her hard schedule, but Ochoa played well enough to significantly close the gap in the scoring race. Now only .04 of a stroke separates the two for the Vare Trophy. With one event to go, Grace and Lorena look like they have a fight to the finish on their hands.

Hee-Won Han managed a solid third round to move to 8 under, but other players had extended the lead in the event to 17 under par, making it very unlikely Han could contend without a monster run. As it turns out, that's exactly what she threw out there. How hot was Hee-Won on Sunday? Try this for size: Birdie on 3. And 5. And 6. And 7. Not enough for you? How about three more consecutive birdies from 8 through ten. That's six straight birdies she had, and 7 total, in just ten holes. Han had leapt up the leader board to 3rd at 15 under par. But unfortunately for her, Heather Daly-Donofrio was having one of those tournaments where absolutely nothing went wrong for her. She started the day with a hole out from the fairway, the surest sign I know that a win is preordained. She sat at 20 under par, and looked unstoppable.

And she was. Han slowed down considerably after her great start. She made bogey on 11 and the par five 13th. She put her tee shot on 14 to within a couple of feet for an easy birdie, but missed makeable birdie putts on several other holes. It was not to be her day this Sunday, but she still notched a sixth place finish and crept closer to the million dollar mark in season earnings (although it would take a win in the final event to get there). She would be the sole Seoul Sister in the top ten this week.

One week to go. Can Han break a million dollars in season earnings for the second year in a row? Will Se Ri stay in the top ten on the money list without playing any more events? Can Grace win her first Vare Trophy and beat Ochoa for second place on the money list? All will soon be answered as the World Turns...