Kyoraku Cup

On the first day, Captain Mi Hyun Kim decided that she would sit out the action. This was perhaps a bit of a strange decision, as she was the most successful Korean golfer of them all in 2006, at least moneywise. But she had faith that the KLPGA and JLPGA golfers could come through. So much faith, that she put Na Yeon Choi (pictured) out in the first match, where she wound up playing the top golfer on the Japanese squad, JLPGA money leader Shiho Ohyama (it's a blind draw: each captain submits a list of where they want the players to play, and the ladies don't know their opponents until the pairings are released). Predictably, Ohyama handled Choi pretty easily. Indeed, Na Yeon wound up with the worst score for the entire Korean squad on this day, an 81. Ohyama shot a 75 to easily win and give Japan an early 2-0 lead.

The second match was between LPGA Rookie of the Year Seon Hwa Lee and Miho Koga. This was tight all the way, perhaps the best played match all day. In the end, Koga bogied the seventeenth hole, and Lee eked out a one stroke win, 73-74. The Cup was tied 2-2.

Next came JLPGA star Jee Hee Lee against Akiko Fukushima. These two players are pretty evenly matched based on their success on the Japanese tour, but on this day, Lee had her number, and won the match 76-79. Korea led 4-2.

Hee-Won Han, who won twice on the LPGA tour in 2006 and thus was arguably the strongest Korean player on paper, was in the next match, playing Yumi Kawahara, one of the lesser known Japanese players. Han got out to a two stroke lead by the turn and pretty much controlled it from there on, winning 75-78. Korea now led 6-2.

The next match was Se Ri Pak against Hiromi Mogi. This looked like a slam dunk, especially in tough conditions, where Se Ri usually shines. However, Se Ri really struggled. She was a frightful 7 shots over par on the front nine, compared to just 4 over for Mogi. Se Ri got control of herself on the back nine, shooting even par for that stretch, but Mogi was three under on those holes, and wound up killing Se Ri 73-79. Certainly this was the most shocking result of the day. Korea's lead was cut to 6-4.

Next came the second Korean JLPGA player, Mi Jeong Jeon, playing Sakura Yokomine. Jeon had been the most successful Korean on the JLPGA tour in 2006, but Yokomine was a big star in her own right. In the end, Yokomine won by one shot, 74-75. It was all tied, 6-6.

Next was Meena Lee (pictured) vs. Mikio Nizizuka. This one was a pretty easy win for Meena, 74-78, and Korea recaptured the momentum and the lead, 8-6. Hyun Ju Shin, the third JLPGA player, took care of Michiko Hattori, 75-77, and Korea's lead swelled to 10-6.

At this point, the Korean team really hit their stride, with some of their top players on the course. JJ loves playing in this kind of weather, and she easily took care of Momoko Huaeda 72-77. Next up was another Korean team powerhouse, KLPGA superstar Ji Yai Shin. She was playing Mie Nakata, and she did what she needed to do, taking a three stroke lead by the turn and hanging on for a 74-76 win. Korea was starting to run away with this, 14-6.

The 11th match had KLPGAer Hee Young Park (pictured) against Akane Ijima. Hee Young played awesomely, the best of any of the KLPGA golfers: she shot a 73. But it wasn't enough. Akane shot an even par 72 and stopped the Korean momentum. Korea 14-8.

In the final match, Jee Young Lee dispatched Shinobu Moromizato 71-74. Jee Young thus was the only golfer on either team to finish under par on this day. Way to go! And she did it under the spotlight in the final group, playing one of the strongest young Japanese players this side of Ai Miyazato. And to make it more special, it was her 21st birthday!! As she came to the 18th green, the assembled Korean team waited, cheering loudly and singing a chorus of 'Happy Birthday' in Korean to the bashful Lee. When Lee sunk the final putt, Korea had a prohibitive 16-8 lead after day one! Signs looked great for the Seoul Sisters to take the Cup back!

In the end, every LPGA Korean player won on day one -- except Se Ri (and Kimmie, who didn't play)! What a surprise that their two best players were the only two who did not produce points for them! Shin, meanwhile, was the only KLPGA golfer to get a win, while the JLPGA Koreans scored two wins. So the story on day one was how the LPGA stars carried the day.

With the big lead Korea had established, the strategy had to be to play solid golf and force Japan to come up with something spectacular. Barring a disaster, Korea looked great to win. But they certainly couldn't take anything for granted.