2005 US Women's Open

Without a doubt, the US Women's Open is the most prestigious event in women's golf. Even the other three Majors don't come close. The Open is not only the longest running event on the Women's pro schedule (it has been going for 60 straight years), it is also the event with the biggest purse, and the largest winner's check: a whopping $560,000 would go to this year's winner. Hall of Famers and legends are largely measured by how they have done in this most august event. The event is also notorious for being the hardest the women play all year. It is run not by the LPGA but by the USGA, who love to set the course up so that par or thereabouts will be the winning score. That means tight fairways, long holes and punishing, brutal rough. And this year's event, with the longest course in the history of the event, proved a particularly tough test. And no hole caused more grief this week than the 18th. A par 5 when the members play the course, the USGA made it a par 4. At 459 yards, it was the longest par 4 in Open history. A water carry off the tee to a 40 yard wide fairway. A second shot uphill to a small sloping green surrounded by deep bunkers. By the end of the week, it would be the hardest hole in Open history, averaging more than 2/3 of a stroke over par. Taming the 18th would be essential to winning the title. Everyone just knew it would prove pivotal in the end.

After day one at the Open, there were a few surprises on the leaderboard, and a few expected results. Despite the media attention, Annika Sorenstam shot an even par round, perfectly positioning her for a run at the title. The low Korean player was a big surprise: Young-A Yang, who had been struggling all year. She proved to be the only professional Korean to finish under par, carding a one under par 70. Michelle Wie, the Korean American wunderkind, carded a 69 on day one.

Se Ri practices
SeoulSisters.com photo by Bob

Grace tries to keep her back limber during
the Open

Some of the top Korean prospects didn't do as well. Se Ri Pak shot a 3 over par 74. She was clearly struggling, again, with her driving and iron game, hitting only half her fairways - which would turn out to be among the very worst in the field that day - and just 10 of 18 greens. By the end of the day, however, her score would prove to be all right, and she wound up in something like 26th place when she started again on Friday. Hee-Won Han continued her record of futility at Majors with a 4 over par 75, and Grace Park shot a 76. Jeong Jang, who had been playing quite well the previous month and looked solid to contend, shot a fairly awful 6 over par 77 and never got close to the lead thereafter. Rookie Joo Mi Kim carded a 78, and would miss the cut in her first Open attempt.

Some other Koreans managed better results, though. Mi Hyun Kim was at even par up until the 18th hole, which she bogied to fall back to one over. Still, she was among the leaders. Young Kim shot a 73 and looked good to continue her recent great play at Majors (she had had a top ten at the previous Major, the LPGA Championship). Young Jo, the only other top Korean rookie in the field, carded a 74, and so did Birdie Kim, the otherwise unheralded second year player. And so did Hana Kim, who had struggled mightily in her rookie year, but now looked good to contend. The leaders, by the way, were at 2 under, so anyone who had stayed close to par was still within hailing distance of the lead.

On Friday, the weather was tougher, and there were even some rain delays at times. Some of the Korean players who had started well did not continue that success. Young-A Yang played in the afternoon, and by the time she started, only a handful of players were still under par. It did not take her long to fall herself, bogeying her first two holes. She wound up with an 81 and missed the cut. Christina Kim, who had started disastrously with an 81, shot a 70 on Friday, but it was still not good enough to make the cut.

But there was good news, too. Se Ri Pak put together a genuinely strong round, a real treat for her fans. She ended up being even par, which is accomplished on this course under these conditions, but what really impressed were her stats: 12/14 fairways hit, 12/18 greens in regulation. Se Ri showed that she can still hit the ball straight, that her game has not entirely abandoned her. Her finish left her at +3, still just five shots out of the lead, but now moved into the top ten. She would be in one of the last groups on Saturday, with a real chance to make some noise at the Open for the first time in years.

Kimmie, too, played solidly, carding a 2 over 73 that left her at 3 over as well. Having never won a Major, she certainly wouldn't have minded making her breakthrough at this event. Aree Song and Sarah Lee both also shot 70s on this day, although they were farther back in the standings than Se Ri and Mi Hyun. Other Koreans who kept themselves in contention included Young Jo (71), Michelle Wie (73), and Birdie Kim (72).

Peanut practices putting before the event
SeoulSisters.com photo by Bob

Se Ri struggled on Saturday. Here, she stripes some
irons on the range
SeoulSisters.com photo by Bob

On Saturday, the pressure ratcheted up another few notches. One thing that helped the collective field a bit was that Annika Sorenstam was struggling with her nerves. In round two she had shot a rather pedestrian 75, and though she would shoot a 2 over par 73 in round 3, it would leave her well back of the leaders by the end of the day. Not having to worry about an Annika charge freed up the other players to give it their best. And several did.

One of those players was Young Kim. Two weeks previously, Young had played with Annika in the final group on Sunday at the LPGA Championship. She had struggled mightily there, dropping from solo second to 7th place in the final round while Annika won. On Saturday at the Open, she once again found herself paired with Annika, but this time she played much better. In the end, she shot one of the best rounds of the day, a one under par 70, while Annika shot the 73. This time it was Young who got the best of the matchup. And now she sat poised just a few shots out of the lead, ready to give contending for a title another try.

The two remaining top Korean players still in contention, however, did not fare so well. Kimmie could only manage a 5 over par 76, effectively ending any chance she had to win the event. Se Ri fared even worse, much much worse. She played one of those rounds that Se Ri fans have come to dread this year, where nothing went right and everything went wrong. She was back to hitting only 7 fairways again, but also hit only 7 greens, and wound up with a ten over par 81. There was a time when Se Ri never shot scores in the 80s. This year she's had several. She still is a long way from her former greatness, though at least there were signs she was coming around. Her final round would be better, even under par for a while, so really only this one terrible round stopped her from getting a top ten. Baby steps.