Volume 2, Number 5, April 21, 2004
 

Highlight and Lowlights

 Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, Gallery, Results
Sunny Day
This year at the Takefuji Classic, a most unusual situation occurred. The two Monday qualifiers were both named Sunny - although their Korean names are actually different. The top qualifier was Sunny Lee (nee Sun Hee Lee), who has struggled mightily since joining the LPGA tour in 2002. But though she is no longer exempt, like she was in 2002, she has shown that she still has a desire to succeed on tour. Playing with Sunny was another Sunny, Sunny Oh (nee Sun Hyo Oh). Ms. Oh is a sophomore at UNLV, and tried to qualify for last year's tournament, only to lose in a playoff for the last spot. This year she succeeded quite nicely, thanks in part to - Sunny! Sunny Lee, that is, who was her playing partner, and whom Sunny (Oh) credited with helping to keep her calm during the qualifier. Sunny Lee ended up dropping out after a terrible first round, citing back problems. But Sunny Oh hung in there, made the cut, and finished a respectable 49th. Here's hoping we'll see more of both ladies in the future!

Kangsy's OK
Soo Yun Kang has had a pretty weak season so far this year; in four tournaments, she has only made the cut once, and then finished in the 60s. But returning to the scene of her best LPGA finish (a 2nd place tie at the 2003 Takefuji Classic), she once again found her game, finishing just out of a top ten with an 11th.

Missed the Cut today
With 22 Korean and Korean American players in the field, a few were bound to miss the cut. Perhaps the biggest surprise was Hee-Won Han. Hee-Won started with a decent 72 in the tough conditions on Thursday, but followed that up with a horrendous 79 that included five bogeys and a double bogey on the par 5 18th. So far in 2004, Han has yet to reach her solid form of last year. Young Kim also struggled a bit, but she was able to recover and make the cut. On Thursday she shot a 77 which included a triple bogey 8 on the par 5 6th. Among other surprising missed cuts were Christina Kim and Soo Young Moon.

In-Bee's Here to Stay
Believe it or not, the sensational Korean junior In-Bee Park had never before this week received a sponsor's exemption to an LPGA event. OK, she's still only 15 years old, so I suppose she has some time yet! But anyway, In-Bee finally got a chance to show what she could do against the professionals, and she impressed everyone who saw her, including the commentators from the Golf Channel. In the tough conditions on Thursday, she carded an impressive one under par 71 that left her only two shots off the lead. She followed that up with rounds of 72 and 71. The final 71 was the result of a few problems at the end of her round; otherwise she might have been as low as 4 under for the week. Nevertheless, her 8th place finish was a mighty powerful debut.

Ahn a Roll Anyway
Shi Hyun Ahn started the season well with two straight top fives, but then plunged in the next two events to a missed cut and a mediocre finish. But despite having left her coach in the interim, she showed she's got too much talent to stay down for long, with an 11th place finish that almost made it into the top ten. With Jeon, Aree Song (who finished 20th) and Ahn, the Koreans have never been better represented in the Rookie of the Year race.

Shi Hyun Ahn in round 1
(Reuters)

Gallery