2007 Wegman's Rochester LPGA:
Teen Dream

A few more Koreans scored 70s, including Young Kim, who had recently won the Corning Classic, also in upstate New York, and the aforementioned rookie In-Kyung Kim. A whole gaggle of Koreans finished the day at one under, including Jee Young Lee (pictured), Seon Hwa Lee, rookies Jin Joo Hong and Ji Young Oh, and the defending champion, Jeong Jang. On the downside, Se Ri Pak had apparently still not recovered from her lackluster performance at the LPGA Championship. She struggled all day, shooting a one over par 73. That was still a heck of a lot better than rookie Na On Min, who followed her third place at the second Major with a 4 over par round to start here; she would go on to miss the cut.

Mi Hyun Kim picked her game up a notch in round two, demonstrating her accuracy off the tee and her immaculate short game. She only made one bogey on the day, a three putt on the par 3 5th hole. Otherwise she was spot on, making five birdies total, three from five feet or less. Her 4 under par 68 gave her a 7 under par total, which ended up being good for a tie for the lead.

But as it turned out, another Korean named Kim also had a great day on Friday: In-Kyung Kim. She shot a 5 under par 67, which tied the low round of her (admittedly short) LPGA career. In-Kyung made six birdies and only a single bogey. Her mistake came on the 18th hole when she three putted from 35 feet. But she ended her day on a high note with back to back birdies on the 8th and 9th holes to move to 7 under total and a tie for the lead with the elder Kim. Like with Mi Hyun, In-Kyung's great short game and accurate tee shots held her in good stead all day. She would have her first chance to play in a final group on Saturday.

In-Kyung (pictured with Mi Hyun) talked with the press after her round, and revealed that, unlike most young players on tour, she is not traveling with any relatives this year. Since she is still just 19 years old, many of the older players have "adopted" her and helped her get used to life on tour. Both Koreans and non-Korean golfers have become friends with the affable girl. And now, In-Kyung had a great chance to learn from one of the best players on tour how to contend in an LPGA tournament.

The two Kims had a two shot lead over the rest of the field, and a three shot lead over Ochoa. The next best ranked Koreans were Meena Lee and Seon Hwa Lee, who were tied for 10th at 2 under total. JJ struggled somewhat on day two, shooting a one over par 73 to finish the day at even par. If she were going to defend her title, she had her work cut out for her. Meanwhile, Se Ri Pak finished the day in 52nd place after another mediocre round. It would not be her week, but she would bounce back with a few great performances in the weeks to come.

On Saturday, Mi Hyun and In-Kyung played in the final group together. Remarkably, it was the veteran Mi Hyun who struggled the most. She simply could not catch a break; her putts were not falling, she had a hard time with her long game, and after a birdie on her first hole, she would not have another one the rest of the day. She did, however, have four more bogies and wound up shooting a dismal 3 over par 75. Walking up the 18th fairway, she approached the on course commentator Jane Crafter and put her head on Crafter's shoulder, telling her with frustration that it had been one of those days.

Meanwhile, superstar Lorena Ochoa was making a move up the leaderboard. By the 11th hole, she had moved to 7 under par and a tie for the lead. While this was going on, In-Kyung had started her round in nervous fashion: she failed to get it up and down on the first hole, and coupled with Kimmie's birdie there, dropped two shots out of the lead. She followed that with a birdie and bogey in the middle of the front nine, and another birdie on the 10th hole to move back to 7 under and a tie for the lead. She followed that up with a gorgeous lengthy birdie on the 12th hole to move ahead of Ochoa by a shot. But in the meantime, another player had made a move and captured the lead. American Angela Stanford made 4 birdies in her first eleven holes to move to 9 under par. But just when it looked like she might take up residence at the top of the leaderboard, her game went seriously south. She missed a bunch of fairways and put her shots into the woods, and as a result made three bogies and a double bogey on the final six holes. She wound up one over for the day with a 4 under total.

And so the focus of the competition returned to Ochoa and Kim. In-Kyung had a few more chances to make birdie but couldn't cash in. Meanwhile, Ochoa ended her round on a roll, sinking a birdie on the par 5 17th, then putting her approach on 18 very close for another birdie. She finished the day with a 9 under total, which left her at that time two shots ahead of In-Kyung. Kim, however, was not done by a long shot. She made a clutch birdie on the 17th after hitting a decent sand shot and sinking another lengthy birdie putt. That moved her to 8 under. But she was not able to make birdie on the final hole, and so ended the day by herself in second place, one shot behind Ochoa. They would be paired together in the final round on Sunday. If she thought it was stressful to play with Mi Hyun Kim on Saturday in the final group, she was really in for a challenge on the final day. But she was looking forward to the opportunity.

A couple other Korean golfers moved themselves into the top ten. Perhaps the most surprising name among them was Jin Joo Hong. Hong, a rookie who earned her way onto the tour by winning the LPGA's official event in Korea last year, but who had not been very successful in 2007. After a third round 69, she found herself at 3 under total, tied for 8th. She was well positioned for her first top ten since joining the tour. Seon Hwa Lee was also tied at that number. Jeong Jang, meanwhile, shot a one under par score to move to one under total. Eight shots out of the lead, it seemed unlikely she would repeat as champion, but she had a few surprises left for her fans in Rochester.

Ochoa is clearly the number one player in the women's game right now, but she has had a history of playing weakly when a tournament is on the line. In-Kyung, meanwhile, had never before been in a position to win an event. It was certainly unclear who would come out on top, or if another player would make a run at them both. As it turned out, the final round had its share of twists and turns before it ended.

Perhaps it was nerves, but In-Kyung did not start the Sunday round well. For the second straight day, she made a bogey on the first hole. She followed that with a birdie, but made another bogey on the third hole. Fortunately for her, Ochoa was not playing all that well, either. After several early pars, she bogied the par 5 fourth, then made par the rest of the front nine. After In-Kyung made a birdie on the 8th hole, she was tied for the lead, but she then missed an extremely short par putt on the 9th hole to fall back down to a one shot deficit. Still, Ochoa was struggling, and if Kim could keep her wits about her, she might have a golden chance to get her first tour win.

Ochoa's miserable play continued on the back nine. She put her approach into a bunker and could not get it up and down from there, and thus fell to 7 under par; In-Kyung was once again tied for the lead. In-Kyung then hit her third shot on the par 5 to very close, dunked that birdie, and took the lead all by herself. Ochoa had yet another terrible hole on 12 when she left a chip well short and missed her par putt. Just like that, Kim had a two shot lead. Could she keep up the pace? Could the win be hers?