2005 LPGA Q-School

The 2004 LPGA Qualifying School turned into a party for Korean women's golf, as an astounding nine Korean golfers earned exempt cards. That was roughly a third of the cards that were available last year. But that group of contestants included several promising young Korean players, including two ladies (Joo Mi Kim and Meena Lee) who had been Players of the Year on the KLPGA tour. In 2005, the top KLPGA players had either already earned LPGA cards through the Futures Tour (Kyeong Bae and Seon-Hwa Lee) or had decided to postpone coming to America (Bo Bae Song). But though the number of promising newcomers among the Koreans was smaller in 2005, that didn't mean that there wasn't some significant drama to be had.

Joo Mi Kim got her exempt card in
last year's Q-School

Minny Yeo and Pearl Sinn-Bonanni are
two Korean veterans fighting to maintain playing
privileges on the LPGA tour

For one thing, a number of Korean golfers who had status on the 2005 LPGA tour found themselves in the position of having to regain that status for 2006 (or perhaps upgrade it from non-exempt to exempt). The most significant of these golfers was Seol-An Jeon, who in 2004 had come within a seven hole playoff of winning the LPGA's Takefuji Classic, and who had finished not far behind Shi Hyun Ahn in the Rookie of the Year standings. In 2005, Jeon had been suddenly struggling in a major way, and in order to stay on tour, she needed a big week at Q-School. Aram Cho, who had earned her exempt status through the Futures Tour in 2004, was another golfer who needed to regain it this week. Thai Wonder Twin Naree Song, whose sister was exempt, had been a non-exempt golfer in 2005, and hoped to earn the full tour card in 2006. Hana Kim and Sae-Hee Son had both earned exempt cards in 2005's Q-School, and now wanted to repeat on tour in 2006. Then you had the veterans, Minny Yeo and Ji Yeon Lee, who seemed to find themselves in this position every year. Could they gain exemptions on tour in 2006 and make their lives infinitely easier? Another longtime veteran, Pearl Sinn-Bonanni, found herself at Q-School as well.

Although the returning golfers outnumbered the newcomers among the Koreans this year, there were still some significant first-timers in the field. Tops among them was probably Na Ri Kim, a top ten golfer on the KLPGA tour and arguably the best player from that tour in this year's Q-School field. Several top amateurs also tried their luck, including Ha-Na Chae and Song Yi Choi, who both have played on the Korean national team lately. Lastly, there was Jeanne Cho, a Futures Tour vet who gained a little notoriety by being named to the next edition of the Golf Channel's reality show the Big Break. She is the first Korean player to be so honored (actually, she's French Korean, making her really unique!).

But even with all the Korean golfers in the field, the focus was clearly on three players coming into the week, and particularly on two of them. Among American hopefuls, you had Brittany Lang and Morgan Pressel, who had finished tied for second behind Birdie Kim at this year's US Women's Open. And representing Japan was the electrifying teen superstar Ai Miyazato, whose every move is followed by a phalanx of Japanese reporters. Would she be able to make the grade this week?

What were all these ladies shooting for? There were 24 fully exempt cards to the 2006 LPGA tour available, and another 35 non-exempt cards. But if you want any kind of decent season on tour, you need to get those exempt cards. It's a tough haul to play the tour with a non-exempt card from Q-School. Players with that status are let into fields only after all exempt players, the players who finished 90th -125th on the LPGA tour in 2005 AND the players who have won tournaments are given first crack. Such players are lucky to get into 5 tournaments in a season. How do the golfers earn these cards? They play a grueling 90 holes of golf, and the top 24 get them. Simple, efficient. And one of the hardest tests of golf on tour all year. The event was scheduled for November 30 - December 4th in Daytona Beach, Florida.

After the first round, to no one's surprise, the top golfers were in fact Pressel and Miyazato, who both shot 6 under par 66s. Among the Koreans, the top finisher so far was Naree Song, who shot a 2 under par 70 and was tied for 7th. Aram Cho and Seol-An Jeon both shot 71s and were tied for 15th, and Hana Kim and Hye Choi shot even par rounds.

The golfers who struggled this day included Ha-Na Chae, who shot a 4 over par round and was tied for 96th with Na Ri Kim and Jeanne Cho. Minny Yeo and Pearl Sinn both started with 5 over par rounds, and would have their work cut out for them to even make the cut, let alone get tour cards (the card fell to the top 70 and ties after day 4).

On the second day, Miyazato solidified her reputation by shooting a 3 under par 69 to move to 9 under par. This was good for a three shot lead. She was going to make this as easy as she could on herself, and it was going to get a lot more impressive before the week was through.

Only three Koreans were still in the exempt card range after round 2, but there was still a lot of time left to go. Those three were Seol-An Jeon, Sae-Hee Son and Aram Cho, all tied at 22nd place. Na Ri Kim made a big move, shooting a second round 70 that moved her into 34th place. Naree Song's second round 76 dropped her down into a tie for 34th. Ha-Na Chae and Jeanne Cho both shot second round 71s to move up to 44th.

On the down side, Hana Kim shot a second round 76 and fell to 57th; she now had some work to even make the cut, let alone get a card. Pearl and Minny were still well out of the race, and would need some great golf to get back into the hunt. And Ji Yeon Lee's second round 78 all but ended her chances of getting a card for 2006.

Naree Song

Jeanne Cho seen on the Futures Tour in 2005

Hana Kim

Na Ri Kim

Seol-An Jeon in 2004

Minny Yeo from 2003

Congratulations to Na Ri Kim on making her
exempt card for 2006!

Sae-Hee Son

In round 3, Miyazato continued her dominance, shooting her third straight under par round, a 70, to move to 11 under. No other player in the field was better than 4 under, including the heralded Americans. Morgan Pressel had fallen back to a tie for 11th at even par, and Brittany Lang was at one over par, tied for 18th. Barring a catastrophe, Miyazato would be an LPGA member in 2006.

Meanwhile, one Korean made a move into the exempt range. Aram Cho shot a 71 to move to even par for the event, tied for 11th. No other Korean, however, was in the top 24. The next best placed Korean golfer was Ha-Na Chae, who sat at +3 and a tie for 29th. Naree Song, Sae-Hee Son and Seol-An Jeon also were at +3, and in good shape for the weekend. Na Ri Kim struggled a bit with a 74 to fall back to +4 and 39th place.

Minny Yeo finally managed a good round, a one under par 71, to move to 7 over par and a tie for 65th. She was well positioned to make the cut, but a card would still be a challenge. Jeanne Cho, meanwhile, was at 8 over par and on the knife's edge of missing the Saturday cut.

Among those who looked in deep trouble were Pearl Sinn-Bonanni, who was at +10, and Ji Yeon Lee, who was at +12.

If those watching the event thought Miyazato had been making a statement until now, they hadn't seen nothing yet. On Saturday, Ai simply ann-Ai-hilated the competition. For those who have watched her play in America and been wondering what all the fuss is about (she has not really played that well in America thus far), here was a glimpse into what we might be in store for in 2006. On this day, Miyazato shot a second 6 under par 66 to move to 17 under par total. That, folks, was a twelve shot lead. In the entire history of this event, dating back to the seventies, nobody had ever won by such a margin. And she still had one more round to go. Her total score was also light years above the previous best score. Miyazato could have played the final round standing on her head and earned an exemption.

The Koreans, meanwhile, had a good day finally, and for the first time, several of them looked primed to get exempt cards. Most impressive was KLPGA star Na Ri Kim, who shot a 68, her first sub-70 round of the week, to move to an even par total and a tie for 15th. Aram Cho struggled with a 74, but Sae-Hee Son shot a 71, and both wound up tied for 21st at +2. Seol-An Jeon was in 33rd, but only a few shots out of an exempt card. Ha-Na Chae and Naree Song were at +4, only two shots out of exemption, and Hana Kim was at +5. They were all still alive for one more day.

Also making the cut was Minny Yeo, who shot an even par 72 and now was at 7 over par. Although it would be quite a trick for her to make an exempt card, she still was in good shape to get some kind of status in 2006.

But several more Koreans missed the cut, and thus lost their chance for exemption in 2006. Among them was Jeanne Cho, who will have to depend on the Big Break to get her chance on the LPGA; she ended up just missing the cut at 10 over. As expected, Pearl Sinn-Bonanni and Ji Yeon Lee also missed the cut. For Pearl, a long time LPGA golfer, this is a particularly bitter blow. Might she retire now? Or will she work to get back to the tour in 2007?

On Sunday, the pressure mounted for most players as they jockeyed to get one of the coveted exempt cards. For Miyazato, of course, it was a walk in the park. And though she shot her worst round of the week, an even par 72, she still easily won, her 17 under par total good enough for a twelve shot win.

Among the Koreans, the top finisher was Na Ri Kim. Although she had started poorly, her final two rounds were quite good, a 68-70, that moved her to 2 under total and a tie for 9th. She would be the only Korean to earn her first exempt card through Q-School this year, quite a difference from 2005, when nine Koreans became rookies that way. Na Ri even made a little pocket change, $2,750, for her efforts.

The second best finisher was Sae-Hee Son. She ended up at +2, tied for 16th, and claimed an exempt card for the second straight year. The third and final exempt card was earned by Seol-An Jeon, but she had to go into a playoff to get one.

Several more Koreans got non-exempt cards. The best of these was Naree Song, who wound up third in the conditional list, meaning she'll probably play a few events next year. Aram Cho was 6th, and Hana Kim 8th, and they might see a little action. But anyone much lower than that was probably not going to get into too many fields. Hye Choi finished 26th, and would probably do better to concentrate on the Futures Tour in 2006.

Meanwhile, Minny Yeo did not get any card at all. It's unclear whether this will be the end of the line for her, or if she will continue to try to make it on tour. But from what she told this website in 2003, we have to believe that she will keep fighting for years to come. Best of luck to her in future years, and congratulations to all the ladies who got cards for a job well done!