Capsule 2004 Pinx Cup

Day 2: Stroke Play

The Koreans ladies returned to their lockerroom following the surprising success of their opponents, determined to make good on Sunday. This would be the stroke play section of the event, and on paper, it would definitely favor the Koreans, many of whom have fantastic scoring averages. And they would be getting the services of Vare Trophy winner Grace Park, who flew in that night. But they still had some work to do. I predicted that the LPGA big guns (Se Ri, Grace, Mi Hyun, Hee-Won, Shi Hyun, Christina, Aree and Jeong Jang) needed to capture at least 12 of a possible 16 points to have a good shot at repeating as champions for the third straight year. But that was not impossible by any means. They were definitely still in this.

They also should have been buoyed by the fact that, were it not for two very long putts by the Japanese ladies towards the end of Saturday, they would have been tied after day 1. That's still probably a little worse than they should have been, but all things considered, it showed that they were not getting outplayed too badly.

JJ meets the press after round 1

Christina Kim crushed her opponent on Sunday
The Koreans were fighting back!

Christina had a rough time with the Korean Press
at the CJ 9 Bridges Classic

When they were planning the pairings for the next day, the rules allowed them to specify where one of their players was to be positioned. The Japanese announced that Miyazato would be playing last. Anyone who faced her would not only be playing Miyazato but a huge crowd rooting against them. It was a daunting task, one that would require a player for whom pressure was not an issue. Not surprisingly, Se Ri Pak, the all time point leader in Pinx Cup history, volunteered for this task. It set up a classic match up between a former teen phenom and current Hall of Famer and the latest Big Thing. And it was quite possible that it would be for all the marbles. With all due respect to the other Korean gals, only Se Ri could have taken on this task, injured wrist or not. You just knew she would do everything in her power not to let the team down.

Day two got off to an auspicious start for the Koreans. The Japanese sent out their biggest gun, JLPGA money leader Yuri Fudoh, on Sunday as the very first player. Their hope was doubtless to get some momentum going that would be so overwhelming that the Koreans would have no chance of coming back. The Koreans sent out Jeong Jang, who had played best of anyone on the team on the first day. She did not disappoint. She went toe to toe with Fudoh and ended up tying her at 1 under par. Jee Hee Lee then backed that up with a win over Miho Koga, and the Koreans were on their way.

But no doubt the biggest early splash was provided by Christina Kim. Christina had an unfortunate history with this event. A few months ago, the KLPGA made its suggestions for the team by picking the six top LPGA players of Korean descent, like they always do. But this time, one of those six was Korean-American Christina Kim. A small but vocal minority of press and fans felt that that was not right, that only true Koreans should play on the team. When Christina came to Korea to play in the CJ 9 Bridges Classic in October, she was mercilessly grilled by the press, who asked her over and over again why she felt she deserved to be on the team when she could barely speak Korean. They claimed she was too American, and Christina found herself in the awkward position of proving how Korean she is. They even went so far as to criticize an old interview in America, when she answered a question about whom she thought was a 'hot athlete' by replying Apollo Anton Ohno. Ohno was perhaps the least popular American athlete in Korea, owing to a 'scandal' in which he won a gold medal at the 2002 Olympics at the expense of a Korean athlete in a controversial manner. Nearly in tears, Christina nonetheless stuck to her guns and declared her desire to play.

I hope she enjoyed making those fools eat crow. On Saturday, she had played well and achieved a tie, but on Sunday, she absolutely blistered her hapless opponent. By the time she was done, she had made seven birdies against only one bogey for a 6 under par 66. This was by far the best score achieved by either team this day (the next best was Mi Hyun Kim's 70). Her opponent Shiho Ohyama only managed a one over par 73. Christina's propensity for setting course records had helped her yet again.

The next couple of matches were nailbiters, but the Korean women refused to budge and managed to eke out wins in both. Thus, Woo Soon Ko, the veteran, beat Mikiyo Nizizuka 72-73, and Hee-Won Han defeated another tough Japanese opponent with grit and determination. That opponent was 17 time winner Michiko Hattori, whom Han beat by one stroke, 72-73. Just like that, the Koreans had gained a ton of momentum and taken the lead 19-15, and they still had some big guns waiting in the wings.

Now it was Grace Park's turn. She had been in Hong Kong on Saturday for a sponsor's event. She was forced to fly from there to Japan, where she arrived too late to so much as play a single practice hole. On Sunday, she took on Toshimi Kimura, never having played the course before. She admitted she depended on her caddie to help her through the tough spots. Still, you wouldn't have known she had any difficulties. She breezed through her match, winning 72-75. Suddenly, the Korean tide was becoming overwhelming!

Grace arrived just in time, like in the movies!

Next it was Rookie of the year Shi Hyun Ahn. She had been drubbed in her first match on Saturday, and to make things even harder, she was facing Akiko Fukushima, one of the Japanese team's best players. But Shi Hyun hung in there and managed a tie with Fukushima at 74 (obviously neither player was having a great day). With seven matches completed, the Japanese had yet to win even one!

That changed with the next match. Aree Song lost to the tough Kasumi Fujii, and the score now stood at 22-18 in favor of Korea. Still, the Koreans needed just one more player to win to insure a tie, two to win it. The scoring was now on their side. But Se Ri and Mi Hyun were not out of the woods yet. The Japanese still could rally and win, and two of their young guns were playing in the final three matches.

But things were going well for the Koreans. Hyun Hee Moon, the unheralded rookie who had been forced to play Miyazato in round one, managed to easily handle Junko Omote in her match, 71 to 75. That moved Korea to 24 points. Japan could afford no more ties or losses. But Kimmie was in the process of trouncing Hattori Mogi. Mogi would need to get her act together to give the Japanese any chance.

Se Ri looks for the ball during round 2

Bo Bae Song during round 1

The Korean team cheers at the 18th green
as their victory looked more and more
likely

Meanwhile, Se Ri and Miyazato were having a predictably intense matchup. Despite the fact Se Ri was clearly not at her best, she played tough golf, matching her young rival shot for shot, while picking up a birdie on her on the 3rd hole. The galleries were enormous for this match up, easily trumping the crowds for Miyazato's first match on Saturday. Se Ri took a two shot lead with another birdie on 11. She was beating the young star by hitting 3-wood off the tee and despite her ailing wrist. And at this point, it was still not clear that Korea was in the driver's seat, so she couldn't afford to waver for an instant.

Se Ri maintained her two shot lead until the 16th hole, where she failed to reach the green in two. But her opponent put her approach into the bunker, and her third shot was terrible, well over the green. The crowd moaned. Se Ri chipped four feet past, and Miyazato managed to get up and down for bogey. If Se Ri had made the par, she would have had a three stroke lead. But she missed it, and the match remained close.

On 17, Se Ri again missed the green. She looked tired and out of it. Another weak chip (this time from some deep grass) left her 8 feet short of the hole. Miyazato, meanwhile, had a ten foot birdie putt to tie. But she just missed it, and though she closed the gap to within one, she had only one hole left.

Meanwhile, her teen phenom buddy Sakura matched up against another teen star, Korea's Bo Bae Song. And beat her, claiming two more much needed points for Japan. There was still life left in their team, barely.

But it would have taken a miracle, for Mi Hyun clinically took apart Hiromi Mogi. Mogi had already beaten Se Ri on Saturday, but was not going to claim another Seoul Sister scalp this day. Kimmie put her 40 foot birdie putt on 18 to within inches, tapped in the par, and trounced Mogi 70-77. The Cup was again Korea's!

Se Ri put her approach on 18 to within 12 feet, prompting a loud 'Woooo!' from Christina Kim, who, along with her teammates, was watching the action by the green. Miyazato, however, put her approach in the bunker, meaning she would almost certainly lose to Se Ri. Still, they enjoyed talking to each other walking up the fairway. Se Ri missed her birdie, but tapped in the par (while someone shouted rather extraneously 'Get in the Hole!' ). Thus Se Ri claimed the final two points for Korea, and it was time to celebrate. Afterwards, Miyazato had nothing but praise for her opponent: "Pak Se Ri was just an incredible player. Her condition didn`t seem good, but she succeeded in putts in every match point with great concentration. I`ve learned a lot."

Japan was very downtrodden after their defeat. Fudoh still couldn't quite believe they had not taken their advantage following the first day and run with it. Getting beaten on day two by a score of 18-6 would no doubt deflate anyone. The Koreans, meanwhile, were ebullient. When asked what factor causes the Koreans to be so good, Grace Park replied slyly, 'Kimchi Power!' I can think of no better explanation. Congratulations, ladies!

Korea wins! Congratulations!