I next stopped briefly at the practice green, where I saw Aree and Naree Song teasing Lorie Kane, asking if she knew which was which. I sure didn't, and neither did Lorie. They seemed to be in great spirits, and players and fans were constantly coming up to them to talk. Though only 17, they both seemed to fit right in with everyone else.

Which twin is which? Aree and Naree (or is it Naree and Aree?) Song
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming

Mi Hyun Kim is all smiles after making a hole in one
during her practice round
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming

Then I went to watch Mi Hyun Kim play her practice round. Right after she teed off, my friend from the message boards called her over, and Mi Hyun introduced herself to me. She shook my hand and said 'I'm very pleased to meet you' as if she had just learned the phrase in Berlitz. It was very endearing! He also introduced me to Mi Hyun's dad, who seemed more standoffish than Grace's mom, but he still gave me a nice smile. Mi Hyun also liked the shirt, by the way, giggling when she saw it.

Mi Hyun's putting was just incredible. At one point she stood at the bottom tier on a green, and putted three putts right up next to the hole in a row. Perfect (and one went in). She spent a lot of time writing notes in her book, as I said before, about how the greens break. No wonder she is such a consummate putter!

She also had a hole in one on the par 3 12th hole! That's the first I've ever seen, and the small crowd around the green cheered wildly. Mi Hyun was really happy, smiling for several moments after that. But then she hit a second tee shot, and it only made it half way to the hole. Oh well, you can't win them all!

Lastly I saw Soo Yun Kang, who was playing with Soo Young Moon and another Korean amateur named Cindy Shin, who will attend Yale in the fall. Lots of Korean spoken in that group! As an aside, the number of Korean and Korean-American players at this tournament was staggering. In fact, there were 22 of them, and even I had not heard of many of them. I saw three different Korean amateurs during the week I had never heard of before. Besides Cindy Shin, I also got a chance to (briefly) watch Alice Kim, who is an 18 year old from Los Angeles, and Jane Park, a 16 year old from Beaumont, California. One can only imagine how many Koreans will be on the LPGA in five years at this rate.

One of the volunteers tried chatting Soo Yun up; she seemed to speak nice English with a throaty, low tone. Great voice, like a Korean Kathleen Turner! Like Mi Hyun, she did some incredible things with her putter. I didn't talk to her, though. Soo Young Moon seemed like a pretty outgoing young lady (she is 19). She joked a lot with Soo Yun Kang, while Cindy Shin stuck with her mom, who was also her caddie.

Being more than a little tired, I headed out after that.

Soo Yun Kang during the practice round
Seoul Sisters Photo/Eric Fleming