2007 Ladies Asian Golf Tour

The Ladies Asian Golf Tour is a women's golf mini-tour in just its second year of existence. It is an attempt to bring high quality women's golf competition to several Asian countries that haven't had it before. Among the events that belong to this tour are several in mainland China, the Thailand Open, and an event in Hong Kong.

In 2006, Korean golfer Eun Hee Ji, currently a rookie on the LPGA tour, won twice on the LAGT to earn that tour's first ever Player of the Year award. In 2007, Korean golfers have struggled seemingly everywhere in the world, and even on the LAGT, a tour they dominated in 2006, they found it hard to collect a win in 2007.

All of that changed at the Thailand Open, when one of the truly great young Korean golfers entered the field and showed what an amazing talent she is.

The player in question is Ji Yai Shin, the friendly young teenager who had obliterated the competition on the KLPGA in 2006. In 2007, she has continued her torrid pace, notching a third place finish at the Women's World Cup (teamed with Young Kim) and two top tens in two Australian events, including a second place at the ANZ Ladies Masters. Ji Yai spent little time getting down to business in Bangkok when the Thailand Open started on March 7th. In round one, she shot a 5 under par 67, four shots better than anyone else in the field. The weather was scorching hot all week, but Shin might have been the only thing hotter even than that. After the first round, Korean Da Ye Na was second at 1 under, with Eun Hee Ji among those tied for 7th at +1.

On day two, Shin surprisingly struggled a little bit, but still maintained control of the tournament. Faced with strong winds, Ji Yai had trouble all day with her game. She three putted on the fourth hole, but made that up with a 25 foot birdie putt on the 11th hole. But a bad drive on the 17th hole cost her another bogey. On the final hole, a par 5, she was in a greenside bunker in two shots, but hit a great wedge out and made birdie to finish her day at even par.

Meanwhile, another Korean player stole the spotlight from Shin. Playing in her first tournament as a pro, 20 year old Ha Neul Kim (pictured) shot a terrible 77 in the first round. But in the second round she shot the best round of the tournament to that point, a six under par 66, that moved her into second place at one under, four shots behind Shin. She did most of her damage with five birdies on the front nine. On the back she had two bogies, but also had a birdie and an eagle on the final hole. Da Ye Na maintained her spot tied for third at even par, giving the Koreans a fantastic chance to at last claim a win in 2007.

Ji Yai may have stumbled in round two, but in the third and final round she let the field know early and often that only one golfer was going to win this event, and that was the KLPGA's 2006 Player of the Year Ji Yai Shin. Playing with brutal, machinelike precision in the blistering heat, Ji Yai shot a 5 under par 67 to finish the tournament at 10 under par, a dazzling ten shots ahead of the second place finisher. No one else in the field was even able to break 71 on the day. Ha Neul Kim could only watch in wonder as she tried without success to keep pace; she shot a 2 over par 74. In the end, the Korean golfers ended the 0-for-2007 drought in style, with Da Ye Na finishing second at even par, and Eun Hee Ji and Ha Neul Kim tying for third at one over par, a sweep of the top four spots. But as impressive as that was, all eyes were on the diminutive Shin as she gave a schooling to the rest of the field.

Next on Shin's schedule was her first career LPGA Major at the Nabisco; she will also be playing in the US Women's Open thanks to a new rule whereby the top finishers on the KLPGA tour get free exemptions into the Open field. Shin's ten stroke win was the largest of her career, topping the nine stroke win she had achieved at last year's Orient Ladies' Open, her third KLPGA win of 2006.

The Asia Miles Binhai Ladies Open
The final event of the Ladies Asian Golf Tour was this event, which took place in Shanghai, China from March 21 - 23rd, 2007. Ji Yai Shin was not in the field, but several other top Koreans were, including the previous event's runner up Da Ye Na (pictured). After two rounds of play, Koreans were one-two three on the leaderboard, and it looked good for another Seoul Sister to win on the tour.

Leading the battle was Da Ye Na, whose combined total after two rounds was two over par. Another Korean, Young-Ae Ham, was at 3 over, while Eun Hee Ji, who had finished tied for third in Thailand, was third at 4 over. Hae Jung Kim and Ran Hong, two other KLPGA standouts, were also in the top ten on the leaderboard heading into day three.

Da Ye, a native of Cheju Island, felt right at home in the windy conditions on day two. "I know this course is very challenging and demands a lot of thinking. It's for the smart players not for brawny players," she told reporters.

On the final day, two Korean and two Taiwanese players made life tough for Na, but she hung in there and carved out the win. One of the challengers was Hae Jung Kim, who had claimed the title at this tournament in 2006. She shot a 3 over par 75 in the treacherous conditions, but it was not enough to take the title. Na shot a 76 and beat her by two shots with a 6 over par total. Also tying at 8 over in second place were the two Taiwenese players, Lu Hsiao Chuan and Yu Pei Lin, as well as Eun Hee Ji from Korea. Ran Hong finished in a tie for 6th at 10 over par.

Na only played two events on the LAGT tour in 2007, but claimed a win and a second place; not a bad average! This was good enough to win her the tour's Order of Merit for most money made in 2007, as well as the Player of the Year award. It was the second year a Korean won this honor; last year, Eun Hee Ji, who won twice in 2006, was the tour's top player. Na will be playing on the KLPGA in 2007, where she hopes to challenge for Player of the Year against the formidable Shin as well as other top players like Ran Hong, Na Yeon Choi, Hee Young Park and Bo Bae Song. Time will tell whether she can hang with those stars, but after her success on the LAGT, it's a good bet she'll at least be a factor!