2007 MasterCard Classic

The MasterCard Classic is the first of two events that take place in Mexico every year. Last year, the tournament was won by Annika Sorenstam, but several Korean players gave her a run for her money. Mi Hyun Kim played well enough to get into the final group on Sunday, where she confronted Sorenstam and Paula Creamer. But it was rookie star Seon Hwa Lee (pictured) who had the most amazing run. She played well enough to be in contention right until the very end of the day. On the second to last hole, she left herself in trouble off the tee, had to punch out of the rough, then still had 100 yards over a gully to a tough pin position. She hit one of the best shots of her year at that point, nearly dunking the ball in on the fly. She easily saved par, and went to the 18th with a shot to take the title. Alas, she was not able to make birdie on this par 5 hole, and Sorenstam squeaked out the one shot win.

In the 2007 edition of the tournament, a number of Koreans gave it a shot, but the tournament wound up being a battle between Sorenstam and little known second year American player Meaghan Francella. At first, though, it was anyone's game. After the first round, Thai American star Stacy Prammanasudh held the lead at 5 under par. She had won the previous event, the Fields Open, beating Korean star Jee Young Lee by a shot, and apparently her good form was continuing at the MasterCard. Several golfers, including Francella and British star Laura Davies, were tied at 4 under. The top Koreans finished the day with 3 under par 69s. Included in that group were Mi Hyun Kim and Seon Hwa Lee, both of whom played so well here in 2006. But also finishing with 69s were Hye Jung Choi, the co-medalist at the 2006 LPGA Q-School (along with In-Kyung Kim); and Il Mi Chung, who has really played well starting in the middle of 2006 to the present. Hee-Won Han, playing in one of the few events she would participate in before taking a sabbatical to have her first child, started well with a 2 under par 70. Kyeong Bae and Shi Hyun Ahn were among those finishing the day at one under.

The Koreans have a gaggle of talented young rookies in 2007, but none of them had played all that well in the first two events of the year. Well, except for one player, the Korean Brazilian Angela Park. Park came into this event fresh off a tie for third at the previous event, and she continued playing well with a one under par 71 here. In-Kyung Kim, the other Korean rookie who had done reasonably well so far, also shot a 71.

The weather was increasingly a problem as the week progressed. Play was suspended in the afternoon on Friday for three hours, and multiple times on Saturday. On Sunday, it took most of the day for the players to finish the second round so, as a result, the tournament wound up finishing on Monday, a rare occurrence on the LPGA tour. By the time the second round was over, Francella had overtaken Prammanasudh for a one shot lead at 8 under. Sitting two shots back was the top Korean, Seon Hwa Lee. Could Lee capture the win at this event in 2007 that had narrowly eluded her in 2006? It would not be easy, for just a shot behind her were several players, including the defending champion, Annika Sorenstam. And another shot behind her was the home country favorite, Lorena Ochoa. Several other Koreans still had an outside chance of capturing the crown if things went their way: second year player Kyeong Bae sat at 3 under par after shooting a 70 in round two, while Hye Jung Choi was also at 3 under. And Hee-Won Han was at 2 under, still with a good chance to capture the title. But Mi Hyun Kim had faded to one under thanks to a 2 over par 74 in the second round.

The third round wound up being a battle between Francella and Sorenstam. Sorenstam made a massive run, shooting a 6 under par 66 to finish the tournament at 11 under par. Francella shot a 69 to match her total score, then, amazingly, outlasted Sorenstam in a four hole playoff to take the title.

Several Koreans played well but were just not able to get into the hunt on Monday. The best player on the course was probably Kyeong Bae (pictured). Bae had started her rookie year last year with a lot of promise, but towards the end of 2006, she had faded mightily. 2007 has been somewhat of a return to form, and this tournament in particular showed what she is capable of. After going two under on the front nine, she had an interesting back nine. She made a birdie on the par 5 12th, a double bogey on the next hole, then made birdies on 4 of the remaining five holes to finish with a 5 under par 67 and a total score of 8 under, good for a tie for third. It was her best finish since she managed a second place finish at the Sybase Classic in early summer of last year.

Another player coming back from some struggles was Shi Hyun Ahn (pictured below). Ahn had suffered from injuries last year that had derailed her progress. When she was good she was very good, including notching top tens in three of the four Majors she played in 2006. But the rest of the time, injuries laid her low. The MasterCard was her first event of 2007, and she started in style, finishing tied for 6th with a 6 under par total. The final round was particularly strong, a 5 under par 67 that consisted of six birdies and only one bogey.

Hye Jung Choi also notched a 6th place finish; for Choi, it was her first ever top ten. Seon Hwa Lee was the fourth and final Korean in the top ten, finishing ninth after a lackluster one over par 73. Among others with good weeks were Jimin Kang and Meena Lee. Kang also had had injury issues in 2006, but she finished 12th this week with a 4 under total. Lee had missed both of the Hawaiian cuts, including at the tournament, the Fields Open, where she had been the defending champion. Here she notched a 15th place finish for somewhat of a return to form.

Rookie Jin Joo Hong earned her status on tour last year by winning the Kolon-Hana Bank Championship. She did not play so well in her first two events on tour this year, however. This tournament looked like it would be more of the same: after two rounds, she had just barely made the cut. But she bounced back in a big way in the final round, shooting an impressive 4 under par 68 to climb all the way to 24th, by far her best finish of the year to date.

Lastly, mention should be made of Grace Park, also returning to action for the first time in 2007. It was not a fantastic week, but it was a solid debut. She finished tied for 35th, easily making the cut.

So in the end, the event continued the losing streak the Koreans have suffered through for the most part since the middle of last year, but at least there were enough positive stories on the course to indicate that things might be improving again soon.