2005 Awards

Best Reaction of the Year:
Jimin Kang, 4th Round, Corning Classic
The situation: Jimin Kang had had the lead for the first time in her life at an LPGA tournament with just a few holes to go. Winning would be a huge moment in her young career. But she had started to struggle, and as she and playing partner Meena Lee reached the 15th hole, Lee had become the surprise leader of the event.

Jimin stepped up to the tee of this par 3 and hit her iron. It landed on the green, bounced twice... and went into the hole! A phenomenal shot that, in one swing, got her back into a tie for the lead. And it had followed a wonderful shot by Lee that had given her a great chance at birdie (which she would miss).

Jimin's reaction? She jumped up and down repeatedly like a jumping bean. She just couldn't restrain herself. The crowd was going absolutely crazy; even the commentator on the hole was jumping up and down. Jimin, still grinning widely, high fived a bunch of spectators; even Meena Lee congratulated her.

The sheer joy Jimin showed made for the best reaction to a shot all year.

Honorable Mention:
Any reaction Christina Kim had at the Solheim Cup

Jimin Kang at the 2005 Corning Classic

Se Ri Pak, Girl Reporter, at the 2005
CJ 9 Bridges Classic

Best TV Appearance Outside of Golf
Se Ri Pak, CJ 9 Bridges
Se Ri Pak might have struggled on the course in 2005, but she found other happier ways to keep connected with golf. Since she was not able due to injury to play in the CJ 9 Bridges Classic, the Korean event that her main sponsor runs, they requested that she instead take a flier at commentating for Korean TV. Of course, there was one little problem: other than a few moments here and there, she had never really done commentating before.

Not to worry; like usual, she did a smashing job. She admitted to being a bit nervous at first, which is understandable; but both her colleagues in the booth praised her for a job well done by the end. She even got a chance to do stand up reports from the course a couple of times, as she discussed the challenges some of the holes presented.

As much as she enjoyed her little diversion, though, she won't be stopping golf any time soon to pursue it.

Honorable Mention:
Young Kim co-hosts the 2005 KLPGA Award Show

Best Hot Streak:
Jeong Jang, July - November
Jeong Jang had a wonderful season all the way around, chalking up an incredible 15 top tens over the course of 2005 while earning more than 1 million dollars. But she particularly hit her stride during the second half of the year.

It all started at the Women's British Open. She was coming off a mediocre 32nd place at the Evian Masters the week before, but had a brilliant week in the UK, leading the event from start to finish and winning her first ever title (and a Major to boot!). After this, she returned home to Korea for a Victory Tour and a little rest (see 'Best Victory Tour' above). When she returned to action in late August at the Safeway Classic, she played brilliantly, and only a fantastic performance from Soo-Yun Kang prevented her from getting her second tour win; she finished solo second. She followed that the next week with a tie for 4th at the Wendy's Championship, a tie for 6th in the John Q. Hammons Classic, and another tie for 6th at the Office Depot. In her remaining 5 events, she finished no worse than 17th, with three more top tens; indeed, if she hadn't played her worst at the limited field events, the events where it is theoretically easiest to get a top ten, she might have finished the year with 17 top tens! Still, it was a fantastic stretch all in all.

Honorable Mentions:
Soo-Yun Kang, August - End of Year
Though Soo-Yun's end of season run was not as impressive as JJ's, she managed four top tens in her final 8 events and 7 top twenties.

JJ had a shot at the Office Depot title as well,
but a double bogey late on Sunday, in the
twilight, knocked her down

Christina Kim gets a kiss from her proud pappy after she
won her second career LPGA tournament

Most Touching Moment of the Year:
Man Kim cries at Tournament of Champions
Christina Kim had not been having a strong run of tournaments following the Solheim Cup. But at the Tournament of Champions, she suddenly found her form, and after four strong rounds, battling serious competition the whole way, she finally claimed the title on the last hole. During the trophy ceremony, her dad/manager/caddie, Man Kim, stood off to the side watching, and the camera zoomed in to show him beaming with pride, tears in his eyes. Always such a seemingly jovial, care-free character, this show of fatherly happiness for his daughter was very touching indeed.

Honorable Mentions:
So many to choose from, but a few good ones would be: Soo-Yun Kang hugs her sister, who followed her all week, after winning her first LPGA tournament; Christina Kim hugs Nancy Lopez and cries uncontrollably after the US wins the Solheim Cup; the camera catches Birdie Kim in the scorer's tent at the US Women's Open, the tears starting to well as she realizes just what she has accomplished.

The Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams Award for Best Champagne Bath of the Year
Soo-Yun Kang, Safeway Classic
With so many Korean first time winners on tour in 2005, there were a lot of events that ended with a Korean player getting doused in champagne by her fellow players to celebrate her breaking into the winner's circle. Perhaps no champagne bath was more entertaining than the one Soo-Yun Kang received following her maiden win at the Safeway Classic. While she hugged her sister on the green, her good friends Grace Park and Birdie Kim silently shook some champagne bottles on the side of the green. They crept up to Soo-Yun while she continued to hug her sis, and managed to catch her completely unaware when they started to soak her. With nowhere to run, she gamely accepted her fate. Her reaction was so great that it was later used in a TV commercial she did for a new sponsor, Woori Financial.

Honorable Mention:
Jeong Jang, 2005 Women's British Open
Lorie Kane and Women's World Cup teammate Bo Bae Song really got JJ good with the bubbly after her win in Britain in July.

Bo Bae Song holds her trophy for winning the first ever
KLPGA event contested in North Korea

Diplomacy Award
Bo Bae Song + KLPGA play in North Korea
When we refer to Korea on this site, we are almost always talking about South Korea, the democratic ally of the Western World that produces great golfers by the bushel. But there is another Korea, the communist North, and as is well known, the two Koreas do not have a good history of past cooperation.

That is why any sign of friendship between these two belligerent adversaries is welcome. To this end, the KLPGA took a minor step in thawing one of the last remaining Cold Wars in the world when they held, for the first time ever, an official KLPGA event behind the Iron Curtain. The event was called the Pyongyang Golf Open, and took place at a golf course outside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in late August.

In the end, one of (North or South) Korea's best, Bo Bae Song, won the event, with a score of 7 under par. She thanked her North Korean caddie, a young woman, profusely for her expert local knowledge. In such tiny ways are connections made between a divided people. Thanks to the KLPGA and the North Korean officials for making this event happen.

Korean Rookie to Watch in 2006:
Kyeong Bae
In last year's Award special at the end of the 2004 season, SeoulSisters Magazine predicted that the Korean rookie to watch in that huge rookie class of 2005 would be Meena Lee. We said, "Ju Mi Kim is the player who has the best overall record coming into 2005, but the Korean player to keep an eye on is Mee Lee. This player was known as Mi Na Lee in Korea, where, in 2002, she was hands down the best player on tour. Since then she has struggled, but she may very well be a dark horse waiting to recover and resurge. " Anyone who followed the LPGA in 2005 knows the rest: Meena had a spectacular rookie year, finishing 7th on the money list, winning a tournament, and easily topping the list of Korean rookies on tour.

At the risk of ruining our perfect prediction record, we are going to make another bold prediction about the Korean rookie to watch in 2006. That player is Kyeong Bae. Basically, there are two very strong Korean rookies in 2006, Bae and Seon-Hwa Lee, and they have had parallel courses in their young careers. Both turned pro early (Bae was only 14!); both made a mark early by winning big tournaments; both are sponsored by CJ; both played the Futures Tour in 2005 (Lee finished first and Bae third); both played the KLPGA as well (Bae finished first, Lee third). Both finished in the top ten on the Futures Tour almost every time they teed it up. Both won in Korea in 2005; both won in America.

Kyeong Bae

Since they are so close, why pick Bae over Lee? Call it intuition. Bae comes from a sports family. Her father was a professional soccer player for Real Madrid, and her mother was a championship table tennis player. Despite the fact she is only 19, she has already been a pro for half a decade. She certainly lived up to the hype with a strong showing at the Pinx Cup, which Lee did not play. She seems ready to come out of the gate strong in 2006.

As usual, the Korean rookies will be overlooked at the start of the year in favor of others (in this case, American Morgan Pressel and Japanese Ai Miyazato will probably get most of the early coverage). But I predict they won't be ignored by the end, and Kyeong Bae will be a main reason why.

Best Party
2005 Pinx Cup
Life on the road isn't just all about golf. The ladies also get to attend a lot of official functions during tournaments, where they hobnob with sponsors and other VIPs. But occasionally, a party is made special in some way or another.

This year, at the annual Pinx Cup pre-tournament party, the Korean stars in attendance made the event special by showing up dressed in traditional Korean outfits. It made for a beautiful group photo, and the ladies really enjoyed getting a chance to show off their country's colors before they defended national pride against the Japanese.

Honorable Mention:
CJ 9 Bridges Classic
The CJ people always put on a great show for the ladies. This year, they invited a number of Korean pop groups to entertain the assembled masses. I wonder what the non-Korean attendees thought of that!