Corona Championship: Na On Fire!

Fortunately for the Koreans, one of the two players at 12 under was Na On Min. Min continued her torrid play by shooting a 6 under par 67 on Saturday, and now sat in a prime position to challenge for the win in her very first event. It's still pretty amazing that, despite her great round, she lost three strokes to Ochoa on this day. But for a while, it looked like she might even walk off with the lead. Through 16 holes, she had 7 birdies and not a single mistake on her card. Then she hit the 17th hole and came out with a double bogey. Even a birdie on 18 did only a little to heal the hurt. But double bogey or not, she was in great position to make a little history.

A few other Koreans had great rounds on this day, but were probably too far back to make a run at the title. Hye Jung Choi, a newly exempt player in 2007, shot a 7 under par 66 to move to 9 under total. Kyeong Bae also shot a 66 to move to within a shot of the top ten. Hana Kim shot a 3 under par round and actually lost ground; still, she was in 13th place and had a real chance for a top ten for the first time in her career. Ji- Young Oh also shot a 3 under par and lost ground, but was in 17th place, two shots out of a possible top ten.

The rest of the story, alas, is anticlimactic. Na On had an up and down final round. She made a bunch of birdies, but neutralized them with a bunch of bogies, and was never in contention. Ochoa, Granada and Cavalleri all played well, and quickly zoomed out of reach of Min and the other Korean players. Still, Min finished as the top Korean of the day with a one under par 72, and achieved a solo 5th place finish in her first start. Not only did this vault her onto the Rookie of the Year list as someone to watch (after just one event!), but it also qualified her automatically for the field at the next LPGA event, the SemGroup Championship (nonexempt players who make top tens in events are automatically allowed to play in the next full field LPGA event on the schedule). She missed the cut badly at that event, alas, but it still gave her worthwhile experience that would help her as she continued her quest to achieve an exempt card for 2008.

How did the other young Korean players do? Kyeong Bae (pictured from last year's Sybase Classic) had a solid day, shooting a 4 under par 69 to move to 12 under total, a tie for 6th. Bae has really rebounded in 2007 after the weak end to her 2006 season. Sarah Lee finished with a 72 and a tie for 13th, just one shot out of the top ten. Hye Jung Choi was tied with her at that score. Angela Park, after holding a share of the lead following the second round, shot two even par scores on the weekend to finish at 9 under, in a tie for 15th place. For Park, it was yet another solid finish in her impressive rookie season, and it helped to solidify her place atop the Rookie of the Year standings. Jin Joo Hong, meanwhile, shot a 5 under par round to vault herself into a tie for 18th, her best finish of the season to date. Considering the struggles she had had previously, this was a welcome return to the form that had allowed her to win her way onto the tour in the first place.

Meanwhile, Hana Kim had a tough day. After putting herself close to her first career top ten through three rounds, she shot a 4 over par 76 to plunge to a tie for 32nd. She made herself nearly $9,000 for her efforts, but she had to be disappointed considering what might have been. Ji-Young Oh was not able to hold on to a top 20 finish either. She shot a one over par round and fell to a tie for 22nd , narrowly the best finish of her career. Jane Park wound up tied for 26th in her first start as an LPGA pro.

So in the end, the Mexican excursion did not produce the first Korean winner of the year, but it did give several young players their first taste of LPGA life. And for one player, Na On Min, it might have been a coming out party to announce a significant new talent among the Korean ranks.