2006 McDonald's LPGA Championship:
Long Live the Queen!

On Friday, Michelle Wie caught a big break that looked like it might help boost her into contention. Playing in one of the first groups out, she shot a great 4 under par 68 that moved her to near the top of the leaderboard at 5 under total. Her playing partner, Dorothy Delasin, did even better, shooting a 71 on Friday, but a 67 on Thursday for a 6 under par total. The break they got is that, shortly after they finished, the rains came. And came. And came. And it began to look like most of the morning groups would not finish on this day. But even worse, the afternoon groups looked like they might not start at all, meaning they might have to play two full rounds on Saturday. Those few, like Wie, who were done with their Friday round had a big advantage.

Se Ri was also playing in the morning rounds, and managed to finish 16 holes before the rains came. She would end up waiting for five hours before being allowed back out on the course. In the morning session, she was playing like a house on fire. After four pars, she made a few mistakes on hole five and wound up with a double bogey. But from that point on, she was virtually unstoppable. She immediately notched birdies on 6 and 7 to return to even for the day. She made three more birdies on 11, 13 and 14 to climb to 3 under and a 4 under total. After her long break, she returned, made a clutch par save on 16, and made two more pars to finish with a 69. She had leapt from 41st to a tie for 8th in just one round. Suddenly, Se Ri was in contention, and at a Major!

First round leader Nicole Castrale struggled to a 75 in round two to drop to 5 under. After her round, she injured herself by falling in the parking lot, and was never able to get back into the thick of things. The player that did sit on the top of the leaderboard by the time the second round finished on Saturday morning was Pat Hurst, who was at 7 under after a second round 71. Christina Kim was tied for second at 6 under. Mi Hyun Kim and Shi Hyun Ahn both were tied at 5 under with Michelle Wie and Castrale. Among the many players at 4 under were Se Ri, Karrie Webb, Lorena Ochoa, Annika, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel, and Sung Ah Yim, who got there courtesy of a 4 under par 68. Hee-Won Han, Jee Young Lee, Young Kim, Sarah Lee and Seon Hwa Lee were all tied at 3 under. All of these women were still very much in the hunt with two days to go.

Se Ri had to be happy. Three shots out of the lead at a Major. 11/14 fairways hit, 14 greens in regulation. Once again, she had produced great numbers, and was rewarded with a round in the 60s, and her second consecutive under par round.

The best was yet to come, though. For when the pairings were announced for round three, it was like a marketer's dream had come true. Paired together were Se Ri Pak, Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb. This trio, all Hall of Famers, had dominated women's golf from 1998 to 2003. Between them were 20 Major titles, probably more than the entire rest of the remaining field combined. They were also the winners of the last five LPGA Championships. In fact, Se Ri had been the last woman to win the event, in 2002, before Annika went on her three in a row streak. Could she be the one to prevent her from getting another win, just as she had stopped Sorenstam's attempt for five straight wins back in 2001? Regardless of whether she could win or not, this pairing would mark the first real test for Se Ri since returning from her injuries. To face two of her biggest rivals in a pairing would give her a chance to see how far she had progressed in her comeback. If she could hang with them, or even beat them, it would be a big boost in her confidence.

Early in their round, it was Annika who made a big mistake, while Webb struggled. Sorenstam moved part of a divot near her ball, which is illegal. Thus she was penalized two shots and dropped back on the leaderboard. Webb, meanwhile, was simply struggling, and before long had fallen all the way back to one under par. Se Ri was the only one playing well at first, notching a birdie and five pars on her first six holes.

As the coverage started on the Golf Channel, Pat Hurst was still in the lead at 8 under, Miyazato was second at 7 under, and Mi Hyun Kim, Se Ri and Shi Hyun Ahn were among those tied at 6 under par. Ahn, Kimmie and Michelle Wie were grouped together in another all star pairing. Se Ri continued to make pars, not really giving herself great birdie chances, before a 3 putt bogey knocked her back to even for the day and 5 under total. Still, she was playing decently, and stayed in the hunt.

On the 10th hole, Annika's drive landed on the cart path, but she hit her approach from there to three feet and made birdie, which moved her back to 3 under. She was by no means out of it. By this point, a large group of Koreans were bunched at 4 under, including Se Ri, Meena Lee, Christina, Jee Young Lee and Wie. Ahn was at 5 under, Kimmie at 6 under. Hurst, however, then made a birdie to move to 9 under, a two shot lead over Miyazato. It seemed like she was preparing to run away from the field, but on the 9th hole she missed both a short par save, then a short bogey, to fall right back to 7 under. Once again, the mass of Koreans was within shouting distance of the lead.

Se Ri ran into some trouble on the par 5 11th. She hit her approach into some nasty rough, and things looked dire; but then she hit a magnificent shot from the deep rough to eight feet and two putted for par. Great stuff from there. Shi Hyun Ahn, meanwhile, made a fifteen foot birdie from the fringe to move to -6, just one shot out of the lead. And Kimmie showed she had plenty of fight in her as well; after hitting a terrible tee shot into the rough on the par 3 12th, leaving herself with little green to work with, she hit a sweet chip to a foot for an easy par.

Some of the Korean stars were not faring so well. Seon Hwa Lee struggled a bit on this day, making three bogies in her final five holes to fall all the way back to even for the tournament. Hee-Won Han also shot a 3 over par 75 to fall back to even. Even Se Ri started to falter. After grinding out a few more pars, she bogied the 13th hole, one of the hardest on the course, to fall to 3 under. But Se Ri refused to quit. She made a birdie on the par 5 15th to move back to 4 under, then followed that up with another birdie on 17 from about 25 feet to get to 5 under. Webb, too, was rallying, and moved all the way back to 4 under by the end of her round. Annika was not so lucky. Unable to recover from the two shot penalty, she wound up with a 3 over par 75 that knocked her back to one under. It was unlikely she would be able to win from back there, but never say never with the world's number one. On 18, Se Ri had a run at a closing birdie, but the ball just missed and she had to settle for par. It was not her greatest round, but it was still under par (71). And she had outplayed both Sorenstam and Webb, a great achievement. Best of all, her five under par total left her, at the end of the day, just two shots out of the lead. In her interview afterwards, it was revealed that she and her swing coach had hugged and jumped for joy after her round. What an incredible vindication for her after so much effort! As she talked to the Golf Channel afterwards, she exuded confidence and serenity. She looked like someone ready to get the job done. But could she do it?

It would not be easy. After the third day, there were still many players within four shots of the lead that could win it. Hurst finished the day at 7 under, tied with Miyazato. Kimmie, Wie and Ahn were all right behind them at 6 under. And tied with Se Ri at 5 under were Jee Young Lee and Lorena Ochoa. Se Ri, in fact, would be paired with the Mexican superstar Ochoa on the final day, the player who had been the hottest of them all in 2006. It would be another chance to test herself against the best the LPGA had to offer. And once again, she would not disappoint.

Se Ri did not get off to the greatest start on Sunday, with a bogey on the par five second hole. But she showed early on that she was going to fight every step of the way and not let a few bad holes destroy her will. On the very next hole, she hit a gorgeous tee shot to three feet and made birdie to climb back to five under. She followed that with a fantastic approach on the fourth hole to even closer, perhaps two feet. Another birdie, and just like that, she had moved to 6 under par. Ochoa, meanwhile, put her approach on that hole into the rough near the green, and could not save par.

Shi Hyun Ahn also started her round well. Playing with Wie, and having to deal with the enormous galleries and distractions that entails, she kept her cool, and made a birdie on the very first hole to move to 7 under to tie for the lead with Miyazato and Hurst. She followed that with another nice iron to 8 feet on the third hole, but missed that birdie. But yet another great iron on the fourth hole to 6 feet followed, and this one she did make. Her 8 under total moved her into another tie for the lead with Miyazato, who had made birdie on 3 moments earlier. So far so good for the LPGA's Rookie of the Year in 2004.

Meanwhile, Se Ri made another bogey on 5 to fall back to 5 under, three shots off the lead. For the moment, she seemed to be a second thought. For at the same time, Annika Sorenstam, playing several holes ahead of the rest, was making a charge. In fact, she would polish off several birdies in a row to move to 5 under, then narrowly miss an eagle try from 30 feet on 15. She did make the birdie, though, and with a few holes left, she suddenly had the very real chance to put a number on the board that might be good enough to win. Karrie Webb, meanwhile, also moved to 8 under, and saved par on the 9th hole with an amazing pitch from the rough after her drive had also found the rough. Over on the 5th, Ahn hit a terrible approach, then could not reach the green with her third shot. Her chip for par she left at least ten feet short, then she also failed to make bogey. She wound up with a double bogey to fall to 6 under, two shots back. But she needed to stay focused, for there were still a lot of holes to go, and she was very much in it.

Se Ri reached the 9th hole, and showed that she, at least, was going to have no problem maintaining her concentration. She drilled a fifteen foot birdie there to move to 6 under. And so, as the last groups reached the turn, the lead was held by Ai Miyazato and Karrie Webb at 8 under par. Kimmie and Hurst were at 7 under, and Se Ri and Ahn were at 6 under.