Best Korean Confrontation of the Year: Kimmie vs. Seon Hwa, HSBC Women's World Match Play
In 2007, there were not a lot of great confrontations which pitted one Korean directly against another, like there had been the two previous years. Probably the most exciting one pitted two top Korean stars against each other with a ton of money on the line. The event was the HSBC Women's World Match Play, and in the semifinals, the top two Korean golfers on this year's money list, #4 Mi Hyun Kim and #5 Seon Hwa Lee, went head to head. The match was compelling on several levels, including the fact that Kimmie was one of the most veteran Koreans on tour while Lee was still in her second year and in her early twenties. The match lived up to its billing.

The lead seesawed between the two stars all day. Lee won the first hole, but Kimmie won holes three and four to capture a one up lead. Lee then won hole five to even things again. By the 12th hole, however, Seon Hwa grabbed a 3 up lead, and it looked like Kimmie was out of luck. Not so fast! Kim won the 13th hole, then carved out a win on the par 5 16th to trim Lee's lead to a single hole. And she did all this despite a nagging should injury that particularly affected her on some of the holes on the back nine this day.

But Seon Hwa Lee showed once again why many consider her the best Korean match play golfer right now. Her nerves remained intact, she squared the 17th hole, then birdied the final par 5 18th to prevent Kimmie from having any chance of stealing a tie. Lee won the match 2 up, and would go on to take the trophy. Kimmie won her consolation match against Maria Hjorth and finished third.

Honorable Mentions:
Jee Young Lee vs. Mi Hyun Kim, HSBC
The round before Kimmie met Seon Hwa she had to defeat another tough young Korean golfer named Lee. This time she faced Jee Young Lee. Jee Young didn't make it easy. With her enormous length off the tee, she had a distinct advantage on holes 16 and 18, both of which were par 5s she could reach in two. Kimmie knew she had to try to put Jee Young away before then. But when they reached the 16th hole, Kimmie was holding on to a tenuous one up lead over the big bopper. But Kimmie doesn't know the meaning of "give up", and managed to win the 16th hole to go dormie on Jee Young. Lee then did what she had to do, winning the par 3 17th when Kimmie missed a makeable birdie putt. So it all came down to the par 5 18th. On paper, it looked like Jee Young's advantage, but she hit a wild drive off the tee, and both players made par. So Kimmie escaped with the one up win, and advanced to face Seon Hwa in the semis.

Ji Yai Shin vs. Sun Ju Ahn vs. Eun Hee Ji, KLPGA
The most consistently entertaining rivalry all year came on the KLPGA, where three golfers seemed to take turns winning tournaments for a while. It seemed like one, two or all three of these golfers were almost constantly in the top five, duking it out for titles. Indeed, in the first half of the season, they pretty much split all the events evenly. But in the second half of the year, Shin kicked it into another gear and left her two rivals to fight for the second place honors. Still, they were breathing down her neck often enough to make her work for it, even when she was in top form.

Best one on one battle: Seon Hwa vs. Ai Miyazato, HSBC final
The most exciting battle involving a Korean golfer in 2007 was the showdown between Seon Hwa Lee and another, much more hyped, second year player, Ai Miyazato of Japan. Miyazato had been a superstar in Japan, where she won umpteen tournaments in just a few years on tour, and when she won the 2005 LPGA Q-School by 12 shots, many expected she would dominate the LPGA rookie ranks in like manner. But as it turned out, the player who won the Rookie of the Year that season was Seon Hwa, and she has continued to be the better player on tour ever since. In 2007, Miyazato had started the year decently, racking up a number of top ten finishes, and it looked like she might be able to finally break through and get that first win on tour. Her best chance came at the HSBC Match Play, where she worked her way through the field all the way until the final. There, she was matched with none other than her old nemesis, Seon Hwa Lee. The sparks flew.

The match turned into another seesaw battle, with neither player able to get much of an advantage over the other. As she had through much of the week, Lee climbed to an early advantage, but after landing her approach in a bunker on 11, she watched as Miyazato put away the par to climb to within one hole. But on the next hole, it was Lee who came out on top, when Miyazato duffed her chip from behind the green and could not save par. Once again, Lee's lead was two.

On the 14th hole, Seon Hwa got a bad break when her perfect tee shot landed in a divot in the middle of the fairway. She could not get up and down from there, and Miyazato made birdie to put the pressure on again. But Lee proved that ice water flows through her veins, and that she well deserves the nickname she has in Korea, 'Stone Buddha'. On the next hole, both players hit great approaches, but Lee dunked her birdie and Miyazato missed hers. On the par 5 16th, both players laid up rather than go for the green, but once again, Lee ended up in a divot. Not the least phased, she hit a great shot this time, putting her approach to a few feet for another birdie. Miyazato matched her, but was running out of holes.

Lee hit her tee shot first on the 17th hole, and it was another brilliant shot, right over the flag to about ten feet. Miyazato responded by hitting an even better shot, to within about two feet. She had an almost certain birdie, which put a ton of pressure on Lee. But Seon Hwa coolly stepped up to her putt, sized it up, and without blinking drained it for birdie and the win. Once again, she had faced Miyazato, as she had in her first career win at the ShopRite Classic, and once again, Lee came out on top. As it turned out, this would be the fourth and final win for a Korean on tour in 2007. But it was the most lucrative. Lee would go on to win all three match play rounds at the Lexus Cup in December, making her match play record for 2007 a perfect 9-0.

Cinderella of the Year: Kristen Park
In years past, this category has been a tough one to decide. Often there are several players in a year who pulled off unlikely wins, and the challenge comes in picking who among them was the biggest Cinderella. But this year, there really was only one unlikely Korean winner in women's golf. That win came from a virtually unknown Korean American golfer from southern California playing in her first ever USGA event. That player was Kristen Park, and the event was the US Girls' Junior.

This year, the event was contested the week of July 23rd at the Tacoma Golf and Country Club in Tacoma, Washington. As usual, there were a number of strong Korean and Korean American amateurs in the field. One of the toughest young players, top junior golfer Esther Choe, had recently turned pro, but several other stars were in attendance. The most notable among them were Kimberly Kim, the Hawaiian star who had won the previous year's US Women's Amateur, and Vicky Hurst, the half Korean from Florida who had been a major force in junior golf the last few years. Others in the field included the defending champ, Jenny Shin; Jane Rah; Korean long hitter Ha Na Jang; and Korean national team captain Jennifer Song.

The first two days of the event are a stroke play tournament; the top 64 players advance to the match play portion, while the rest go home. The medalist, or best scorer, in this segment of the event was Kim Kim, who obliterated the field thanks to a blistering 10 under par 62 she shot in the first round. This tied the lowest score ever achieved in any USGA event (the co-holder of that record? LPGA star Christina Kim!). Meanwhile, Ha Na Jang finished two shots behind Kim in second. In fourth was Kristen Park, a fourteen year old playing in her first ever match play event. She certainly started the week well.

Meanwhile, Vicky Hurst and the defending champion, Jenny Shin, were among the players who did not even advance to the match play tournament. Shin was even younger than Kristen Park when she had won the event in 2006 (by beating Hurst in the finals, as it turned out), so it wasn't so surprising that she would struggle. But Hurst's ouster this early was a big shock. She would have her revenge as the season continued, however (as we will discuss later!).

Unfortunately, Ha Na Jang was soundly beaten in the first match play round, as was Jane Rah. But Park, Kim Kim and Jennifer Song advanced. Song did so in remarkable style, trouncing Chinese golfer Shanshan Feng 7 and 6. But Song fell to the top junior Mina Harigae in round two. Kim and Park both advanced to round three. After round three, 4 of the 8 remaining golfers had Korean blood: Kim Kim, Kristen Park, Canadian Sue Kim, and Floridian Michelle Shin (no relation to Jenny Shin).

In the quarters, Kim Kim was beaten in 23 holes after an epic battle against her fellow Hawaiian and friend Stephanie Kono, and another Hawaiian, Ayako Kaneko, defeated Sue Kim, also in 23 holes. Meanwhile, Michelle Shin advanced, as did Kristen, although Park, too, had to go to extra holes to do it. She won in 19 holes.

In the semifinals, Park was up against Stephanie Kono, and though she was far less experienced than Kono, she pulled off a 2 up win to advance to the finals. There she faced Kaneko, who won her match with a birdie on the final hole. Thus, the two would face each other in a 36 hole marathon. It was the first such match Park had ever played.

Park, who was using a good friend of hers as a caddie, was very nervous to start out. She missed two pars on the first two holes to give Kaneko an early lead. But Kaneko made mistakes, too, and by the time the first 18 holes were done, they were all tied. Apparently Park had a good lunch, though, because she came out firing in the afternoon. She nearly holed a bunker shot for birdie on the first hole, then hit her approach on the next hole to 2 feet to win that hole. By the time the front nine was done, she had climbed to a 3 up lead. Kaneko missed a par save shortly after that to fall 4 down, a margin Park held on to until she was dormie. On the 33rd hole, Kaneko once again missed a putt, and the championship was Park's. With her win, she became the fourth youngest girl in history to win this august event.

Thanks to that win and several other strong finishes in AJGA events, Park at one point climbed to the top ranking in girls golf. She was also invited to participate in the Junior Solheim Cup, where she teamed for several wins with the likes of Vicky Hurst and Mina Harigae, and was named a Rolex Junior All American (first team), the second youngest to get that honor this year. In a lot of ways, this has really been a Cinderella year for Kristen Park!

Top Teen performance:
Vicky Hurst
In a year where a teenager, Ji Yai Shin, won 11 international tournaments, another one, Angela Park, won the LPGA's Rookie of the Year, and several other teenage rookies had top fives in Majors (Inbee Park, Na On Min) or almost won tournaments (In-Kyung Kim), it may seem a little strange to give this award to an amateur instead of one of those great players. It's certainly the case that teenage golfers, including Koreans, have exploded into prominence in the pro ranks in just the last few years. But we're going to be talking a lot about those great pros as this article goes on, so instead, I've given this award to another young player who is sure to be a star, and who had a great year in the amateur and junior ranks: Vicky Hurst.

Many are not aware that Vicky even is a Seoul Sister. But in fact, her mother is Korean. Hurst has been a top junior player now for a while. Last year, she came within inches of winning the US Girls Junior, but made a few critical mistakes in the final few holes to lose to 13 year old Jenny Shin. This year, she did not even make the match play round at the Girls Junior. Given those two results, why does she get this award? Because she was so formidable the rest of the time!

Vicky Hurst definitely has golf in her blood. Her mother is an avid golfer, and was playing a round of golf, while pregnant with Vicky, when her water broke on the 16th hole! Needless to say, she didn't finish that round, but she did soon after deliver a girl into the world who was born to golf.

Vicky went through her share of tragedy to get to where she is. When she was 15, she was at the Ginn Clubs Open, attempting to qualify for a spot in the field, when she got a phone call from home. Her father, her biggest fan, had just died. It was a shock to everyone. But since then, Hurst has played on his memory, and has risen to the top of girls golf.

She first broke into the top five on the Polo Junior girls golf ranking in mid-July of 2006, and has remained in the top five ever since. She ended that year with four great tournaments on the AJGA, the golf league for junior girl golfers: two wins and two runner up finishes. Her ranking at the end of 2006 was fourth.

In 2007, despite her struggles at the US Girls Junior, she played even better, coming up with eight top ten finishes and three wins in AJGA competition. By mid-June, she was ranked second, and in July she won the Betsy Rawls Girls Championship, one of the top tournaments in girls golf. Thanks to this win, she moved into the number one spot in the rankings, although that only lasted for a short time. Missing the match play portion at the girls Junior hurt her, and entering the final AJGA event of the year, she was third in the rankings.

That event, the Ping Invitational, was a good one for Hurst. She beat her top rival, Kimberly Kim, by four shots to again move into the top ranking spot in girls golf. This in turn won her the Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors.

After playing well at the junior Solheim Cup, Hurst next decided to play in the Futures Tour Qualifying School. She was still undecided as to whether she would turn pro or remain an amateur. But as it turned out, she not only earned a tour card on the Futures Tour, she won the medalist honors by finishing on top of the leaderboard. And so, Vicky Hurst has decided to turn pro, and will compete on the Futures Tour next year. There is every indication that the 17 year old, whose idol is Se Ri Pak, will become a big star in professional golf.

Honorable Mentions:
Ji Yai Shin
As mentioned above, Ji Yai Shin's performance was so incredible in 2007 that it ranks as one of the best among all the Korean golfers. That she did it all as a 19 year old second year pro makes it all the more amazing. But I have a feeling we'll be hearing from Ji Yai later in this article, and since this category is primarily meant to honor amateurs (it was created in the days when teen pros were relatively rare), we'll pass by her this time.

Angela Park
Angela Park was one of the youngest players on the LPGA tour in 2007, yet she walked away with the Rookie of the Year award. A great achievement, certainly more impressive than Vicky Hurst's year, but again, we'll be hearing from her later, so let's give the amateur star her due!

The Teen Rookie Brigade (In-Kyung Kim, Inbee Park, Ji Young Oh, Na On Min, etc.):
Man, were there a lot of great teenage Korean rookies on the LPGA tour this year or what? Wow. Consider this mention another nod in their direction.