KLPGA Update

Orient Chinese Ladies Open
Every once in a while, the KLPGA sponsors a special event outside their usual parameters. Last year, for instance, they had a one time tournament played in North Korea, which was won by KLPGA star Bo Bae Song (pictured). Several North Korean golfers were given a chance to compete against their South Korean sisters in the first ever KLPGA event staged North of the border.

This year, the KLPGA co-sponsored, along with a Chinese Ladies Golf Association, its first ever official event in mainland China . The event was called the Orient Chinese Ladies Open, and it took place from November 16- 19 in Xiamen, Fujian Province. It was the first national Open championship for Chinese women, the final leg of a four event mini tour for them. The KLPGA did its part to make things interesting by sending some of the top players from their tour, including Ji Yai Shin, Hee Young Park and Na Yeon Choi. Several top Chinese women players made the trip, including Zhang Na, the former three time Chinese amateur champion. As well, several Japanese and Thai golf stars competed. But without a doubt, the players to beat in the field were the Koreans, most particularly the woman already touted as the next 'Pak Se Ri', Ji Yai Shin.

You have to give the Chinese players credit, though. They did not want to concede the event to the Koreans. Before the event started, Zhang Na boldly predicted that a Chinese player was going to come out on top in the end, and it would probably be her. In America, that's the kind of statement that gets clipped out of a newspaper and posted in an opposing player's locker to give them extra motivation. I don't know if Ji Yai Shin or the other Korean golfers did that, or even knew about these comments, but they came out ready to show the Chinese ladies what they were going to be up against if they wanted to compete with the Seoul Sisters!

This was the second straight four round event on the KLPGA; all the other events this year had been three rounds. And much as you would expect, the Koreans quickly seized control of the proceedings. In round one, Ga Na Lee, who had had a fairly quiet 2006 after breaking through with her inaugural professional win in 2005, shot a 5 under par 67 to take the lead. Ji Yai Shin (pictured) got off to a quiet start, an even par 72. But if anyone thought that Shin was going to be a non-factor this week, they were in for a rude shock. In round two, Shin blistered the course with a 6 under par 66, the best round of the day, and seized a tie for the lead with relatively obscure KLPGA golfer Bo Kyung Kim. Ga Na Lee was one over in round two, but still sat in a tie for fifth at 4 under. Another KLPGA player, Young Ae Ham, was in third. The only non-Korean in the top five after two rounds was Julie Lu of Taiwan, who was tied with Lee at 4 under.

The top Chinese player after two days was amateur Feng Shan Shan, who was in a tie for 9th at two under with another Chinese player, Chen Guan Bei. Zhang Na, who had made the bold prediction about a Chinese win, was not doing too badly. She had a one under par total and was tied for 12th. But she had a heck of a lot of work to do to catch Ji Yai Shin. And as she was about to find out, that is easier said than done.

Maybe it was the comments in the newspaper, maybe the Chinese food, or maybe she was just feeling good about her game. Whatever the reason, Ji Yain Shin went on a rampage in this event, producing arguably the most brilliant golf of her young career. She already had the lead going into round 3 of four, thanks to the aforementioned 66 on Friday. But on the third day she exploded with an 8 under par 64, three shots better than anyone else. When the dust settled, she stood at 14 under par, a full seven shots clear of anyone else in the field. In second was Young Ae Ham, while Na Yeon Choi shot a 67 to move to 6 under and third place. Ga Na Lee was over par, but still stood in 6th place, while Hee Young Park was in tenth after an even par 72.

After three rounds, the Korean stars were dominating the proceedings. There were only 13 golfers under par, and of those thirteen, all but three were Korean. The top non-Korean golfer in the field was Julie Lu, who was tied for 6th with three Korean golfers. Thai golfer Russamee Gulyanamitt and Chinese Zhang Na were tied for 10th at one under. Despite the drubbing the Korean golfers were giving the rest of the field, it was definitely a good experience for the Chinese and Thai golfers. It gave them a good chance to see where they needed to go to raise themselves up to world class status in the golf world. And the Chinese fans were being treated to a phenomenal performance by Shin, who is quickly establishing herself as one of the best women golfers in the world. What was perhaps most encouraging for her was that this event was not occurring in Korea. She has already won professional events outside of her home country, but the more she shows an ability to do that, the more confident she'll feel when she eventually ends up in the States on the LPGA tour (and you know that can't be too long in coming!).

Shin admitted later that she was unusually nervous coming into the final round; after establishing a seven shot lead, the last thing she wanted to do was lose. Indeed, she did slip a bit: after shooting the best round of the day on Friday and Saturday, she was only able to shoot the second best round of the day on Sunday. Still, it was a slaughter, the most dominating performance by Shin yet this year, and she easily captured her third tour victory of 2006. She wound up with a 69 on Sunday for a 17 under par total and a eight shot victory. It was one of the biggest wins ever on the KLPGA tour, a fitting capper to one of the greatest seasons in that tour's history.

In second place, also shooting a 69, was Na Yeon Choi. A solid week for her, even though she finished 8 shots behind Shin. Another promising KLPGA rookie, Son Joo Ahn, finished third at 6 under. Hee Young Park also produced a 69 and finished tied for fifth. Ga Na Lee finished alone in 7th place. The top Chinese player on the leaderboard was Wang Chun, who finished 9th at one under; Zhang Na finished 17th at 2 over.

In the end, Koreans took the top seven spots on the leaderboard, an amazing domination by the Sisters. Thai golfer Gulyanamitt was the top non-Korean finisher at 2 under, good for 8th place. And how did the Chinese golfers react following this result? Zhang merely said that she was disappointed in her performance on the final day; she had tried to "go for broke", and instead had a disappointing 75.

Meanwhile, Shin committed to playing in next year's Women's World Cup of Golf, where she will join Young Kim on the Korean team. It will be very interesting indeed to see how she fares against some of the top golfers in the world .