2007 US Women's Open

Hands down, the most important event in women's golf is the US Women's Open. Only twice in history has a Korean golfer won this great tournament. The first time was also an event that, perhaps more than any other, started the Korean wave of great golfers that has swept over the LPGA tour (and women's golf in general). That win came in 1998, when 20 year old Se Ri Pak, a rookie on the LPGA tour, defeated a 20 year old Asian American amateur named Jenny Chuasiriporn in an epic twenty hole playoff at Black Wolf Run golf course. Pak's win created jubilation in her home country, and many of the young Korean golfers who are just starting their LPGA careers now vividly remember being inspired watching Se Ri achieve this victory on TV. The second Women's Open win for Korea came two years ago, when Birdie Kim, tied for the lead with amateur Morgan Pressel, hit one of the greatest shots in the history of the tournament, a bunker blast that landed on the green and rolled perfectly into the cup for the birdie and the win. It was the only birdie on that particular hole all weekend. Birdie Kim had certainly lived up to her name on that day.

This year, the Open was played from June 28th - July 1st at Pine Needles Golf Club in North Carolina. The Open had been played there twice before in the previous 12 years. The most recent time was in 2001, when Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak duked it out in the final group on Sunday for the title. At the end of the day, Karrie began making birdies, Se Ri made mistakes, and Webb wound up with an 8 stroke win. That year, the field was comprised of 94 Americans and 55 international players. But this year, for the first time in history, there were more foreign golfers playing at the Open than Americans: 79 internationals vs. 77 Americans. Koreans alone comprised 34 of those international players, by far the largest single contingent of foreign golfers (and that doesn't include the Korean American and other golfers of Korean heritage, such as Angela Park, a Brazilian golfer of Korean heritage). Sweden had the second most players among the non-Americans, with 8 representatives. The effects of Se Ri's monumental 1998 victory have never been more evident.

Besides the usual LPGA stars in the field, there were several other intriguing Korean storylines worth following. The USGA decided earlier this year to grant exemptions into the field for the top three golfers on the KLPGA tour. The top golfer from there, Ji Yai Shin (pictured), had just made history the week before the Open by becoming the first golfer in ten years to win three straight KLPGA tour events. Would she be able to keep up that amazing form and be a factor at the Open? Could she even win it? Meanwhile, teen sensation Amy Yang had attended a special Open qualifier in Hawaii and won it, so she would be playing in her first ever US Women's Open. Her goal was a top ten; could she, at 17, manage that? Also in the field was Korean American teen star Michelle Wie, who had had a terrible time of it in the previous two events she had played. Would she be able to make the cut here, or would there be more struggling in store for her this week? Then there was Kimberly Kim, who qualified for the field thanks to her amazing win at the US Women's Amateur in 2006. Still only 15 years old, how would she handle the tough US Women's Open course? There were other top Korean and Korean American amateurs in the field as well, such as Vicky Hurst and young Jennifer Song. Esther Choe, another top amateur, had just turned pro and was playing only her second event since then. Had she jumped the gun by turning pro before her 18th birthday? Or would she be a factor at the Open?

Unfortunately, the biggest story of the event for much of the week was the terrible weather that forced repeated delays on the course. Usually it didn't actually rain, but the ominous thunder in the background was still enough to force postponement of play, just to be on the safe side. On the first day, the players who played in the morning really got the better end of the deal; they were able by and large to finish their rounds, while the players in the afternoon had to deal with long delays and incomplete rounds.

One of the players who was able to complete her first round was rookie Angela Park (pictured). Park has been leading the Rookie of the Year race by a wide margin most of the year. She has contended several times for tournament wins, most notably at the Fields Open, her second LPGA event since joining the tour. At the previous Major, the LPGA Championship, she had grabbed the first round lead, and at the Open, she did it again. She shot a 3 under par 68, which at the end of the day was enough for her to hold the lead all by herself. At the LPGA Championship, she had faded a bit after her great opening round, although she still finished fifth. Could she handle the pressure of leading better the second time around?
Several more Korean stars posted good morning rounds as well. Ji Yai Shin, the KLPGA superstar, showed she could compete on this side of the Pacific by shooting a one under par 70 to open (the course was a par 71). Joo Mi Kim and Shi Hyun Ahn also finished at 1 under.

In the afternoon wave, several more Korean golfers got out to strong starts. Birdie Kim, the only Korean besides Pak to win the tournament, has been playing pretty well in 2007. She started her first round with birdies on the first two holes. Mi Hyun Kim and In-Bee Park also started well. But not too long into their rounds, the horn sounded, and play was suspended for several hours. They did eventually get back out onto the course, but most of the afternoon wave were not able to finish their rounds. When play was suspended, Angela still stood atop the leaderboard.

In second place at 2 under was another young Korean dynamo, Jee Young Lee, who completed 12 of her holes. Tied with Lee was yet another Korean, In-Bee Park (pictured). Park, a rookie in 2007, had struggled a lot since turning pro, but as an amateur, she had been one of the strongest junior golfers in the country. She won the US Girls' Junior once and finished second two other times. She even tried petitioning the LPGA to allow her to join that tour before her 18th birthday, but they turned her down. Undaunted, Park went to the Futures Tour, where she finished third on their money list in 2006 and earned her LPGA tour card. Since 2007 started, however, she had played poorly, missing as many cuts as she was making and only rarely finishing within the top 50. Her start on the first day gave hope to her that she could at last break out, and given her previous record at USGA events, she doubtless felt that the Open environment was very comfortable and familiar to her. Her two under par 69 score was bogey free, quite an accomplishment on an Open level course. Meanwhile, Mi Hyun Kim finished her day at 1 under, with several holes yet to play.

Some of the golfers who did finish their first rounds probably wished they hadn't. Karrie Webb, who had won the Open by 8 shots the previous time it had been played at Pine Needles, shot one of the worst rounds of her career on day one, an abysmal 83 that not only knocked her out of contention but made it virtually impossible that she would make the cut (in fact, she did miss it). Michelle Wie showed she is still far from her former self by shooting an 82 on day one. Suzann Pettersen, the winner of the year's previous Major, shot a 76 on day one and also failed to make the cut. Grace Park continued her struggles with a 77.

Meanwhile, Korean superstar Se Ri Pak shot an up and down round of 74 to open, putting her well back of the leaders. If she wanted to contend at this event, she would have to significantly up her game the final three days.
Action resumed on Friday at 7 am. The golfers who were not able to finish their first round would have to do so; then, after a brief break to set the new pin positions, those same golfers would immediately start their second rounds. The afternoon golfers would not play much on Friday unless the weather cooperated.