2006 LPGA Qualifying School

After the first round, a pair of Korean golfers stood at the top of the leaderboard. Hye Jung Choi and In-Kyung Kim (pictured) got off to great starts in their quests for tour cards. They both shot 5 under par 67s. Tied for third were heavily touted Paige McKenzie, LPGA player Erica Blasberg and college star Irene Cho. Jane Park, another top college player, only managed a one under par on this day, but that left her in a tie for 22nd, within shouting distance of the exempt cards.

Ashley Prange, the Big Break V winner, shot a 3 under 69, while Jeanne Cho, the runner up to Ashley in Big Break, shot a one under.

From the KLPGA, Hyun Hee Moon also started well, with a 2 under par 70. Her KLPGA compatriots Eun Hee Ji and Hae Jung Kim shot even par. Hana Kim, Minny Yeo and Naree Song, all trying to come back to play again on tour, shot +2 74s. Not great, but not terrible. Ji Young Oh, the unbeatable 18 year old amateur, shot +1 on the first day, leaving herself well down the leaderboard in a tie for 58th. But she had started slowly at the sectional, too, and improved day after day, so there was reason to believe she would correct her situation as the week progressed.

The only Koreans that dug a deep hole for themselves were Ha Na Chae and Jimin Jeong, both of whom shot 76s. But even those were not scores that were impossible to comeback from.

After the second round was completed, two Koreans remained at the top of the leaderboard, but they were not the same two as were atop the leaderboard in round one. Angela Park (pictured) shot a 5 under par 67 to move into the lead, tied with Hye Jung Choi, who had also had a share of the lead in round one. In-Kyung Kim stumbled a bit, shooting a 73 to fall to 4 under total, still within the top ten. Ji Young Oh, the promising 18 year old amateur, improved in round two, shooting a 70 to move under par for the week. Irene Cho, Aram Cho, Jin Young Pak and Na On Min all were in the top fifteen after two rounds of play.

Jane Park was still trying to get into the groove, however, and was at even par, tied for 28th. She was going to have to step it up if she wanted one of those coveted exemptions for 2007.

One player who really had trouble in round two was Hyun Hee Moon. She shot a 77 and plunged down the leaderboard. She had fallen all the way down to a tie for 58th, and had to right the ship quickly or she would be struggling just to make the cut (the top 70 and ties would advance to the final day after the first four rounds). And Minny Yeo and Hana Kim were starting to fade. Yeo shot a 76 to fall all the way to 93rd, while Kim was in 58th after a 73.

One player with a particularly troubling story was Naree Song. Once upon a time, the Song twins were the toast of junior golf. Both of them had done amazing things as young girls. Aree had finished in the top ten at a Major while still only 13 years old, while Naree had been the youngest to make the cut at the US Women's Open another year. But Aree has had only a middling career as an LPGA pro so far. She's been able to maintain her exempt card pretty easily, and has occasionally contended for titles, but this is not what was expected of her when she nearly won her first Major as a member of the LPGA in 2004. But if Aree had had the occasional disappointment, Naree has really struggled. She turned pro about a year after her sister did, but has never been able to earn exempt status on the LPGA. She has one win on the Futures Tour, but has never come close to earning her exempt card that way, either. And in the past few months, things have gone from bad to worse. She has been stricken with a mysterious malady, one that saps all her energy and makes it difficult for her to concentrate on the course. Her sister needed to shout at her to even get her up before her rounds this week, and lately she has found it difficult to practice for more than an hour at a time. Doctors are still working to isolate the cause and find a cure. But in the meantime, Naree soldiered on. So far, her first two rounds in Florida had been tough, and it would take all her waning energy to keep up the good fight for a card.

After the third round, the situation for the Korean golfers started to come into focus. Some of them were set up for easy weekends, others were well positioned to make a run at exemptions, while still others had their work cut out for them just to make the four round cut. Like in the first two rounds, once again two Koreans were at the top of the leaderboard. Angela Park clung onto the top spot, but joining her again was In-Kyung Kim, who had had a share of the lead in round one but had fallen back in round two. On day three, she shot a 4 under par 68 to move to 8 under total. Hye Jung Choi (pictured), who led in round 2, had her first poor round, a 75, that knocked her back to -4. Nonetheless, that left her in good shape tied for 6th. Also tied for 6th was Irene Cho, one of three women named Cho in the top fifteen. Also currently sitting pretty inside the top 15 were Jeanne Cho and Aram Cho, both tied in 13th place at one under total.

For Jeanne Cho, this year's Q-School was notably less nerve wracking than it had been in the past. For one thing, she had the Big Break experience behind her now. The pressure there had been great, but she had handled it wonderfully, advancing all the way to the finals before losing to Ashley Prange (Prange, also in this year's Q-School, was tied for 30th after three rounds at 2 over par). Also helping Cho stay balanced was her recent marriage. She had met her husband at an event a few years ago when she suddenly found herself in need of a caddie. Although he didn't know her, he volunteered his services, and a friendship was born that eventually led to love and marriage on November 18th of this year, just a few weeks before Q-School. Like Hee-Won Han, the most successful married Seoul Sister, having her partner there to give her support really seemed to be working for Cho. But she still had two tough rounds of golf to go.

With the cut looming, several players were in danger of not even making it to the final day. The current cut line was +6. Hae Jung Kim and Hyun Hee Moon surprisingly both found themselves at that spot exactly. They needed to have decent rounds to even make the cut, but it would take quite a fantastic two days of golf by this point for either one to get an exemption. Naree Song had rallied despite her problems with an even par 72, but was at 8 over par and would need to shoot around 70 to make the cut. Hwanhee Lee, Ha Na Chae, and Na Ri Lee also looked likely to miss the cut, as did Minny Yeo, who was hanging on, trying to get back onto the LPGA tour one more time. Yeo was in last place among all the Koreans at 11 over par, and would probably require at least a 68 to have any chance to make the cut. It wasn't looking good, since her best score all week had been a 74.

Then there was Ji Young Oh (pictured). The teenage sensation had shot a 70 in round two to climb the leaderboard, but a 75 on day three set her back. She was at +2, tied for 30th. She looked poised to make the cut, and had a reasonable chance at making her exempt card; but she was still on the outside looking in. Could she rally in the next two days?

On the fourth day, the cut fell, and while the dream ended for some (At least for another year), others really solidified their position in impressive fashion. In-Kyung Kim really flexed her muscles on this day. Already tied for the lead when she began play, she shot a 6 under par 66, her lowest score yet, on the course where she had previously shot her only poor round of the week, a one over 73. How's this for consistent -- 18 greens in regulation! This gave her a startling 6 shot lead over anyone else in the field. At this point, she would have to be disqualified on Sunday not to earn her exempt card. But if In-Kyung could shoot 68 or better on the final day, she even had the chance to beat Ai Miyazato's Q-School record of 17 under par.

Six shots behind her in second was Hye Jung Choi, who continued to surprise. Although a solid Futures Tour player in 2006, who even managed a 21st place finish in one LPGA event, nothing about her record suggested she was this good. She wasn't quite the lock for a card In-Kyung was, but short of shooting in the 80s, she, too, probably had locked up her card for 2007.