2007 Evian Masters

Another Korean star moved into position. Mi Hyun Kim (pictured), coming off a marathon week at the World Match Play which saw her finish third, had moved to 4 under after the front nine. She made a bogey on 10 following a bad drive into the bushes, and would go on to make two more bogies in her round to finish the day at 1 under. Too bad, too, because she definitely had it going for a while.

By the end of the day, the leader was American veteran and Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, who finished at 6 under par. She had a two shot lead over JJ, who ended up at 4 under. Shin was among those tied at 3 under. Il Mi Chung had a good day, a 2 under par 70, and sat at 2 under, while Kimmie was at one under. The way the weather was, if it stayed windy on Sunday, potentially anyone at +1 or better still had a good chance to walk off with the trophy.

On Sunday, there were any number of golfers who could have won this thing. Inkster started the day with a two shot lead, but soon fell to 4 under. Natalie Gulbis vaulted up to 4 under herself. Lorena Ochoa, the world's number one player, had moved to 3 under, and Sorenstam was still there as well.

Meanwhile, Jeong Jang started the day at 4 under, but three early bogies in her round knocked her all the way down to one under. Playing in the last group with Inkster, she was not able to make a birdie for a while after that, and stayed at the one under level, percolating just under the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Ji-Yai Shin went on a roll. She made three birdies and a bogey on the front nine and found herself at 5 under and tied for the lead with Gulbis. Might Shin get her first win on tour? Alas, she double bogied the 12th hole, then fell into a relentless patter of bogey-birdie-bogey soon after that. Every time she seemed out of it, she make another birdie. Then, when she seemed in it, bang, another bogey. She hovered around 2 to 3 under for a while.

Sun Ju Ahn also made a move, at one point sitting at 3 under, just a shot out of the lead. But she fell back after that and finished at 2 under. Christina Kim (pictured) took a shot next. After falling to even par, she made three straight birdies late in her round to move to 3 under and close to the lead. But she, too, made a mistake at that point and finished the event at 2 under.

As the event wound down, Gulbis had a chance to move to 5 under on the final hole. But she missed a short birdie and finished the week at 4 under. The total had been set, and now the other golfers on the course had to see if they could match it or exceed it. Shin on 16 hit a great approach and drained a ten footer to move to 3 under. At the same time, JJ drained a 6 footer on 15 to move to 2 under. She followed that with an approach on 16, leaving the ball some thirty feet from the hole. But she drilled that putt as well to move to 3 under. Suddenly, JJ, who had seemed dead after the three bogies early in her round, was back in the mix.

The key moment for Shin came on the 17th green. Faced with a four foot par save, she missed it to once again drop to 2 under. She was going to need an eagle on the par 5 18th to tie Gulbis. But her approach flew into the back bunker, leaving that possibility in doubt. Shin hit her sand shot, and it rolled perfectly towards the hole - stopping one roll short of dropping in! Oh, how close! Had it gone in, she would have finished at 4 under and had a shot at the title. Instead, she tapped in for a 3 under finish, which would be good for a tie for third place, her best finish yet on the LPGA tour. What could have been if not for the short par miss on 17!

The only players who could still catch Gulbis were JJ and Inkster. Inkster was tied for the lead, and if she could get a birdie on one of the last two holes would become the oldest LPGA golfer to ever win an event. But she three putted on 17 to drop out of her share of the lead. On 18, she got on the green in two, while JJ landed in a greenside bunker. But JJ hit a superlative out, tapped in the birdie and moved to 4 under, a tie for the clubhouse lead. Only Inkster could still put Gulbis and JJ away: she had a very long eagle putt that would have given her the win. But she put that putt several feet past the hole, then missed the short birdie that would have put her in the playoff! Thanks to two three putts on the last two holes, Inkster would have to try to make history another day. Meanwhile, Jang and Gulbis were heading for a playoff.

JJ had only been in one playoff in her career. Back in her rookie year, she had lost a playoff to Mi Hyun Kim at the 2000 Safeway Classic. This time, she faced a woman who had never won on tour before. Could she put her away? After both hit perfect drives on 18, the first playoff hole, JJ hit her second over the green near the back bunker. Gulbis hit her shot a bit left, but got a nice bounce that put her on the green, 50 feet from the hole. JJ needed to get up and down, since Gulbis would almost certainly two putt for birdie from there. But JJ did not hit a very good shot, and the ball rolled some ten feet past the hole. Gulbis put her eagle try within a foot of the hole, meaning JJ had to make her birdie to move on. But she hit it a bit too hard, and moments later, Gulbis tapped in for birdie. The title was hers, while JJ had to settle for second place and her second lost playoff.

So, the curse of the Evian remained for the Korean golfers. JJ finished second, Shin third, Sun Ju Ahn and Christina Kim sixth. It was a solid roster of Korean talent on the leaderboard, and the KLPGA in particular made waves, with Eun Hee Ji finishing 16th and Sun Ju Ahn 6th in their first LPGA event. Shin had come one roll away from a playoff, and JJ had come as close as any Korean to actually winning the darn trophy. But she can content herself with the fact that her runner up finish gave her nearly $300 grand, and vaulted her up the money list towards the top ten. A few more good events and she will manage her third straight year as a top ten golfer on tour. And that's not really a curse at all, is it?