KLPGA Update

Next up for the ladies was the Shinsegae, which took place September 20 - 22. Three LPGA stars took part in this one: Young Kim (of course; she is sponsored by the tournament's sponsor, Shinsegae, and is a former champ at this event); Kyeong Bae (the defending champ); and Jee Young Lee.

In the first round, KLPGA up and coming player Ran Hong (pictured) scorched the course with an 8 under par 64 to take a two shot lead. She broke the course record by one shot in the process. Hee Young Park, coming off two disappointing tournaments, kicked some serious butt in round one here. She shot a 6 under par 66 and was tied for second. Just a shot behind her was Bo Bae Song, who shot a 67. Young Kim, who is sponsored by Shinsegae, did her sponsor proud by also shooting a 67. Jee Young Lee shot 68, and Kyeong Bae, the defending champion, shot a 71. Ji-Yai Shin had a rare weak round; she shot even par and was tied for 57th.

In the second round, Ran Hong continued her torrid play with a 5 under par 67. Although she started with bogies in two of her first 4 holes, she followed that up with 7 more birdies. She maintained a two shot lead at 13 under total. In second was KLPGA winner Hae Jong Kim at 11 under.

Jee Young Lee made a great move herself in round two. She shot a 6 under par 66 which included an eagle on the ninth hole, five more birdies, and a single bogey. She ended up at 10 under total in solo third. Bo Bae Song shot a second round 68 to move to 9 under total. Hee Young Park, alas, was only able to shoot an even par round, and remained at 6 under, now seven shots out of the lead. Unfortunately, she was not able to take advantage of Shin's weak play to make up some ground on the money list.

Round three saw yet another great finish to a KLPGA tournament!

This time, players were going low all over the place. Hee Young Park was one of them. She started the day seven shots off the pace, but after going two under on the front nine, made five more birdies on the back nine, including her final two holes, to shoot a blistering 7 under 65 and move to 13 under total. For a short while, this kept her close to the lead.

Na Yeon Choi shot a 6 under (she started the day one shot ahead of Park), including six birdies on the back (four in a row to end the day) and one bogey. She finished tied with Park at 13 under.

But the tournament came down to two golfers. Ran Hong started the day two shots ahead of anyone else. She was one under par on the front nine after two bogies and three birdies. That put her at 14 under and the clear lead at the turn. But coming up fast on the outside was Jee Young Lee! Lee birdied 8 and 9 to move to 12 under. She then birdied 11 and 13 to catch Hong, who parred those holes, then birdied 15 to move into a one shot lead. Both ladies birdied 16, and Lee maintained her lead. It all came down to the 18th and final hole. Lee parred, so Hong needed a birdie to catch her and force a playoff. Instead she bogied, and Jee Young Lee captured her first KLPGA win of 2006. She's now won two events on that tour (three if you count CJ as an official KLPGA event, which the KLPGA does not seem to do).

Also a quick shout out to Ga Na Lee, who shot a 65 on day three to move up to a top 20 finish! About the only downside for the Korean stars was Kyeong Bae, who missed the cut in defense of her title. Shin, meanwhile, climbed all the way to 8th place; the money she made allowed her to virtually tie Se Ri's record. It was almost guaranteed that she would surpass it in her next event.