2006 LPGA Qualifying School

Tied for third at 6 under were a bunch of top players including Angela Park. Irene Cho shot over par today but was still tied for 10th at 3 under and was in good position.

Ji Young Oh, who had been percolating under the exempt category all week, exploded on this day, shooting a blistering 68 to jet up the leaderboard into a tie for 12th. For the first time, she was on the right side of the line to gain her card. Her 58th place position after the first day seemed a distant memory, but she would still have to play decently on Sunday to claim her exemption and join the other 18 year olds on tour next year.

Among those just a few shots out of the top 15 (and exempt status) were Jeanne Cho (who fell to +1, two shots off the mark), Aram Cho, Jin Young Pak and Jane Park (pictured). All of them looked like locks to gain conditional status, but a good final round could get them the golden ticket!

Several players missed the cut and saw their time at Q-School end. Not surprisingly, Minny Yeo was one of them. She actually had a good day, shooting a 71, but it wasn't nearly enough to get her over the hump. Also missing the cut: Hwanhee Lee, Na Ri Lee and the Ecuadorian Korean Kitty Hwang. But Naree Song shot a 70 and just made the cut on the number. Would she be able to overcome her illness and acquire a conditional card on tour?

The final round came at last, with a lot of pressure on all the women in the field. For this one day would determine the fates, for the next year, of these ladies.

The biggest surprise was that In-Kyung Kim (pictured), who had had a 6 shot lead at the start of the day, was caught. She shot a one over par 73, which was still good enough for a tie for first and co-medalist honors, although it was four shots behind Ai Miyazato's record total of last year, -17. Hye Jung Choi, who had started the day 6 shots back, shot a 67 to catch Kim and finish co-medalist. So like had been the case all week, two Koreans finished at the top of the leaderboard. In-Kyung was the medalist at both Futures Tour Q-School and LPGA Q-School this year. I wonder if that's ever happened before? What is clear is that, amazingly, this was the first time a Korean has won Q-School since Se Ri Pak was the co-medalist in 1997.

Also winning exempt cards were Angela Park, who finished tied for 5th, Irene Cho (pictured below), tied for 10th, and Aram Cho, tied for 12th. Ji Young Oh, the 18 year old wunderkind, played well on this day as well. She carded a one under 71 and finished 9th, capturing an exempt card as well. What a performance! She went from 58th after the first round to 9th and a card.

So in the end, six out of the 15 available exempt cards went to Korean women (technically, four to Koreans, one to a Korean American (Irene) and one to a Korean Brazilian, Angela). That's more than a third of the available cards this year. The Korean wave is showing no sign of slowing; in fact, if anything it seems to be getting stronger.

Just missing an exempt card was Jeanne Cho, who finished at even par in a tie for 16th, one shot out of the money. Not much farther back were Jin Young Pak, Na On Min and Jane Park, who finished tied for 18th. Most years, that would have been good enough to gain a card, but there were so few cards available this year that they will have to settle for non-exempt status next year. The good news for them is that they will be among the top ranked non-exempt players next year. They can probably count on getting into at least 10 - 12 events, and if they take advantage of those opportunities, will get into even more.

Eun Hee Ji, Hyun Hee Moon, and Yeon Joo Lee also earned conditional cards.

Thanks to ties and players who already had non-exempt status and thus were not given new cards, the final cut line for any kid of status was at +8. This allowed several more Korean golfers to just sneak in and grab cards. Hana Kim, Hae Jung Kim, Su A Kim and Seo Jae Lee all finished precisely at 8 over to earn their conditional cards. Hana shot a 5 over par 77 that really killed her, but as luck would have it, she still will have playing privileges in 2007. However, players finishing this far back in the list will be lucky to get into more than 4 or five events next year.

Jimin Jeong suffered the worst heartbreak, as her +9 total denied her any LPGA card in 2007. This golfer won twice in 2006 on the Futures Tour, and one would expect her to return to that tour next year to see if she can earn her card that way. Another strong Futures Tour player, Ha Na Chae, shot +10 and will also remain on the Futures Tour. Naree Song, meanwhile, had shot a 70 on Saturday to make the cut; but on Sunday she slid to a 77 and did not earn a card.

Looking at the amazing depth of this rookie class for the Koreans, it seems as if this 2007 class has the chance to be the best they've ever sent to the LPGA. Jin Joo Hong has already won an event; Irene Cho is one of the top college players in the country. Then you have not one, not two, but FIVE 18 year old superstars -- Song Hee Kim, In-Bee Park, Angela Park, Ji Young Oh and In-Kyung Kim. And don't forget Jane Park, a much decorated college star who will be in enough events that she could be quite a factor. With all that talent coming to tour to join the raft of Korean superstars already present, the toughest question to answer will be which of them will succeed the most? In just a few months, we all will get a chance to find out!