Fairways and Greens

Grace Park to miss a month due to injury
Bad news for all Seoul Sisters fans. Grace Park has been forced to drop out of the US Women's Open due to a recurrent neck injury. She first mentioned it hampering her during the LPGA Championship a couple of weeks ago; she missed the cut there. Doctors have advised her to give it three to four weeks rest, without any golf practice whatsoever. That necessitated her missing the US Women's Open for the first time in her career.

Grace hopes to return to the LPGA by the time of the Evian Masters at the end of July. It's hard to imagine she'll be able to contend there, as she will only be able to practice a short time before this event. But hopefully, resting her neck will allow it to fully recover, and she'll be back to her old self in a few months.

In this, the year of the comeback, nothing would make us here at SeoulSisters.com happier than seeing Grace get back to the top. Now that the other three original Seoul Sisters have won in 2006, we only need Grace to collect a trophy to make it a complete set!

Futures Tour: Song Hee Kim, Take Three

Song Hee Kim has quickly established herself as a breakout star on the Duramed Futures Tour. Immediately after she won the IOS Futures Golf Classic at the beginning of May, she returned to Korea for a brief vacation. She returned to the States two weeks later, this time accompanied by both of her parents. She traveled to Geneva, Wisconsin, to participate in the Aurora Health Care Championship from June 2 - 4, and immediately picked up where she had left off. The course played very tough, and after two rounds, four players were tied for the lead at one under par. Song Hee was tied for 5th at one over par with a number of other players, including Big Break runner-up Jeanne Cho. But on the final day, in the toughest conditions, Song Hee stepped up big and seized control of the tournament. Hanging tough while others faltered, she finally took the lead on back to back birdies on holes 14 and 15, while the former leader took bogies on those same holes. She wound up shooting a 69, the only player to shoot in the 60s on the final day, and finished at 2 under, the only player to finish under par. Her third win elevated her to $41,319 in winnings for the year, twice as much as the nearest competitor. She has managed to win 3 times in her first 7 events on tour. Congratulations to Song Hee Kim on her awesome accomplishments!!

KLPGA Event turns into a battle of the superstars
The first two KLPGA events on tour this season were won by last year's Rookie of the Year Hee Young Park, and a promising rookie who won as an amateur on the tour in 2005, Ji Ae Shin. Meanwhile, the two time league Player of the Year, Bo Bae Song, was recovering from injuries that had hampered her effectiveness.

Fully healed and ready to go, Bo Bae engaged Hee Young and Ji Ae in a titanic battle in the third KLPGA event of the season, the Lakeland Ladies Open, contested May 24-26 in Korea.

After two rounds, the leader was Woo Ri Choi, who also had won on tour in 2005. She had an impressive 10 under total. Four shots behind her was a resurgent Bo Bae Song. Korean Open winner Ji Ae Shin was tied for fifth at -3, while the other winner on tour in 2006, Hee Young Park, was at -1.

It looked like a run away for Choi, but nothing could have been farther from the truth. On Sunday, Choi collapsed with a six over par 78, allowing Bo Bae to charge up the leaderboard. But the big move of the day came from Park, mounting a furious charge from behind. She would shoot a 6 under par 66, the best round of the day, finishing at 7 under. Ji Ae Shin also notched a 7 under total. But in a star studded final round, it was Bo Bae who came out on top, capturing the lead at 8 under and hanging on for the one stroke win. It was her first win in nine months. Shin is still the woman to beat on the money list, but both Park and Song are in the mix. It looks like there will be quite a battle for Player of the Year on the KLPGA this year.

Amy Yang to play British Open & Evian Masters
In a year of memorable events for the Korean players, one of the first and most memorable happened in February, when 16 year old high school girl Amy Yang stunned a field of professionals (including Karrie Webb, who would win a Major just a couple of months later, and Ai Miyazato) by winning the ANZ Ladies Masters. Amy has been laying low since that victory, playing in the occasional amateur event, but mainly tuning her game.

There's a reason for that. Thanks to her win, she has been invited to play in both the Evian Masters and the Weetabix Women's British Open later in the summer. That's right, her fans outside of Australia will get a chance at last to see her in action against a field of top stars, including another famous 16 year old of Korean heritage we all know. She has reportedly been working on her creativity around the greens in anticipation for this test. Sounds like it could be quite a show!

Se Ri thanks her fans
Se Ri Pak has been having a wonderful time since she pulled off her amazing victory at the McDonald's LPGA Championship (see the article elsewhere in this issue!). Recently, she posted a message on her website thanking all the fans who had stuck with her through her tough times and gave her encouragement. Thanks to Scott and his lovely wife Boyoung for providing a translation of her message, which I present below. Keep in mind that this may not be entirely accurate, but it does provide the basic gist of what she had to say.

I didn't know how to thank my fans, so I erased this several times in the middle of writing, and pondered upon it. I didn't want to say "thank you" superficially just to say it. I really wanted to convey my deepest appreciation with my heart. Even before the win of this McDonald's Championship, I was able to feel my fans' constant support on my every play, and I was able to laugh happily and enjoy golf.

For quite a while, I was disappointed at myself and was hurt by inconsiderate words and remarks that people made without thinking. What hurt me the most was to disappoint my fans, who held my hands quietly and showed me smiles. However, I was able to motivate myself to go back to practicing because of my fans' unwavering support and prayers and finally won the McDonald's Championship.

This is only the beginning... this is only the beginning... I keep on telling myself.

I will work hard and do my best. I thank you very deeply.

Thank YOU, Se Ri! Those of use who are your biggest fans (I count myself as one) have loved watching you over the years. We always had faith that you would be able to overcome your troubles and get back into the winner's circle. Best of luck the rest of the year! Here's hoping this is indeed 'only the beginning!'

Money List
What a three weeks for the Korean golfers! First Jeong Jang takes a final round lead into the Corning Classic, only to falter, allowing Hee-Won Han and Meena Lee to get into a play-off for the title. Hee-Won wins. The next week, Seon Hwa Lee finally breaks through after three runner up finishes with a win at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Then came the year's second Major, and Se Ri Pak finally ending her long, long victory drought with a spectacular win on the first hole of the playoff against Karrie Webb. For Se Ri, the win catapulted her into the top 20 on the money list for the first time this year.

Also notable during this period are Shi Hyun Ahn, who came within a few putts of winning the LPGA Championship herself; Mi Hyun Kim, who also nearly won the Major; and Christina Kim, who has played better and better the last few weeks.

On the downside, Grace Park is still struggling to find her game. She missed several cuts during the period. And Soo-Yun Kang is playing slightly better, but is a long way off her top form. Gloria Park, however, is starting to play more to her level, notching a nice finish at the ShopRite to move up the money list.

Falling out of the top 100 was 2005 US Women's Open winner Birdie Kim.