While I was watching Grace, I caught a glimpse of Michelle Wie walking by, and got a few pictures of her. Even in the practice round she was being followed by a huge throng of fans. This was the only time all week I would venture anywhere near that chaotic mess; it was really a circus atmosphere everywhere she went.

After Grace was done, I wandered over to the media center. I had missed Se Ri's practice round, but knew she had a press conference at one PM. About ten minutes early, Se Ri walked into the media center, and hung out with a few reporters in the corner. She was wearing these shorts that looked denim, and had one of those little backpacks on that Japanese school kids wear (but it looked way too small for her broad back!). The press people all seemed to really like her; they were joking around with her and teasing her, saying things like, 'Now now Se Ri! You shouldn't say things like that', which would make her giggle. It was heartwarming to see she was so well liked. I hung out with this group, but I didn't say anything. Se Ri was only about three feet from me. If she saw the Seoul Sisters T-shirt, she didn't mention it.

Michelle Wie drives on the par 5 7th
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming

Se Ri at her press conference
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming

We went into the press conference. Se Ri sat on a stage with a woman from the USGA. This is the woman who narrates the US Open videos, in fact. She asked Se Ri a bunch of questions, which Se Ri duly answered, then threw the floor open to anyone who wanted to ask something. A couple of people did, but then the questions stopped. I had intended to just sit there silently and take it in, but since no one else was asking questions, I raised my hand and asked the question that was paramount on my mind. Namely, what had happened to her wrist, and how serious was it? Her answer was that she had hurt it Monday, but it was just a slight problem and did not affect her swing at all. In fact, she was completely confident in her game right now, everything was going well. She said all this while looking directly at me, and I was in the second row! And thus I got my first scoop for Seoul Sisters Magazine! As it turned out, I did not meet Se Ri all week, but this was about as close as I got. This started the ball rolling, and suddenly everyone had questions for her. As typically happens with Se Ri, some of her answers were a bit incomprehensible, but she had a good sense of humor about it. The press laughed several times at her jokes. The funniest one was when a reporter who came in late asked her about why there were so many good Koreans on tour these days, a question another reporter had already asked. She replied, 'That's simple. It's because of me. It's all my fault' . I had some more questions, but they asked if there were any more questions, and literally before my brain could trigger my hand to raise, they helped Se Ri to her feet and hustled her out of there. It must have taken no more than ten seconds for her to be completely out of there. It was almost like the drill the secret service go through to protect the President when shots are fired.

What happened next was truly unusual, and I'm still not sure exactly what was going on.

As I left the conference room, I spotted Se Ri in the corner surrounded by several Korean reporters. I wandered over. One Korean man, who was covered in media badges (so I assume he was a reporter), was massaging Se Ri's injured wrist. The wrap had come off. Several Korean reporters saw this and maneuvered themselves into position to take photos. There was a woman there with short blonde hair who was trying to get them to give her a little room. Naturally, I wandered over and took a few photos myself, being careful not to crowd her. The 'reporter' massaged Se Ri's wrist for several minutes. He held up the five fingers of his left hand and moved them independently, saying something about how the tendons affect the fingers. Se Ri held her other hand up and mimicked his movements. Perhaps this guy was a doctor, although it was weird he had all these media credentials. A white older guy was standing nearby, and he said something about how it would be tender for the next few days, but should improve markedly as time went on. Then the woman grabbed some medical tape and put it on Se Ri's injured wrist.

Weird Scenes Inside the Media Tent:
Left, the mysterious Doctor/Reporter massages
Se Ri's wrist. On the right, you can see the
bandage they put on her wrist after the massage.
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming