LPGA Update

State Farm Classic
The last few weeks have not been so great for the Korean golfers. After winning 8 of the first 18 events this season, it looked like they were on pace for a record number of wins in 2006. It could still happen, but since the World Match Play Championship in early July, the wins have dried up markedly. They did manage one win in July, when Mi Hyun Kim topped Natalie Gulbis at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, and notched a gaggle of top tens at the next few events as well. But the last few events in particular have been among the weakest for the Koreans this year. Hopefully they will be able to right the ship in time for the Asian swing in October.

First up was the State Farm Classic, which ran from August 31 - September 3rd. The early story was Se Ri Pak. She had been struggling with injuries ever since late July, and the trouble continued here. After a moribund 3 over par 75 in round one, she made an attempt to play round two, but her injuries flared up, and she was forced to drop out after 9 holes. She would go on to miss several more weeks of action as she recuperated from this latest problem.

But another Korean who had been inconsistent of late stepped up in a big way. Seon Hwa Lee has led the Rookie of the Year race pretty much since the start of the season, but in the last few months had been putting up weaker results. She told this magazine at the Safeway Classic that she was tired, as she had never before had such a long season as the one she was experiencing in 2006. Nonetheless, she stepped it up at the Safeway, getting her first top 20 in a while, and at the State Farm, she did better still. After two rounds she found herself at 10 under, just two shots out of the lead. Another top Korean rookie, Kyeong Bae, was at 9 under. Il Mi Chung shot a 6 under par 66 in round two, and was the top Korean in the field at that point at 11 under. Young Kim was also in contention at 8 under, tied for 6th. On the downside, Jee Young Lee, coming off three straight top five finishes, was only in 27th at 4 under, as was Hee-Won Han.

In round three, Seon Hwa shot a solid 69 and rose to -13. This put her just one shot out of the lead, which was held by Swedish golfer Maria Hjorth. Also tied at 13 under was Il Mi Chung, so the two Koreans and Hjorth would be in the final group on Sunday. Bae was still in contention as well at 11 under.

So things were looking great for the Korean golfers, right? Well, this event is held at the Rail golf course, where ultra low scores are not uncommon. And the Koreans became victim of one of those ultra low scores on Sunday. After nine holes, Seon Hwa, Il Mi and Nina Reis were tied at 14 under, while Hjorth led at 16 under. But breathing down their necks were three of the top players on tour, all tied at 13 under: Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam and Cristie Kerr. Lee had been in a similar situation back in June at the ShopRite Classic. There, she turned on the jets and played an extraordinary back nine, which allowed her to claim the title from the pursuing Sorenstam. This time, however, she was never able to make that run. The killer hole for her was the par 3 11th. She hit a horrendous tee shot that barely cleared a hazard, then failed to get it up and down. Although she did make two late birdies, she wound up finishing at 16 under, tied for third. Il Mi Chung looked like she might make a run on the back nine, but only made a birdie on the par 5 15th, where she pretty much needed an eagle like she had made the previous day. She, too, wound up at 16 under. It was a good finish for Kyeong Bae as well; she wound up in 6th at 15 under.

But in the end, it was Annika Sorenstam who proved too much for the field. Sorenstam was absolutely on fire, chipping shots in, dunking long birdie putts from the fringe, and generally making everything in sight. She wound up shooting a 62 and took the title easily at 19 under total. It was the first time in her career that she had shot a 10 under par round in the final round of an event to win. Kerr also passed the Koreans and finished second at 17 under.