Magazine 2003 Year in Review

Volume 1, Number 20 January 14, 2004

2003 Year in Review

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

The 2003 LPGA season is history. Once again, the Korean golfers on tour made it a truly great year; only a Major would have made it more exciting. Among the highlights: seven victories by four different players; Korean golfers captured three of the four top spots on the money list; Se Ri finally won a year ending award and managed a feat no other living woman has accomplished; Grace Park and Hee-Won Han became superstars; and Soo Yun Kang and Young Kim had great seasons as newcomers to the tour. Let's wander back through the months of 2003 to relive all the great memories one more time.

Grace signed a huge sponsorship deal with Nike
during the off-season

Pre-season

After the ladies teamed up to demolish the Japanese team at the Maruhan Cup in December, they went their separate ways. They all had interesting off-seasons. For Grace Park, she was awarded the 'Fierce Tiger' honor from the Korean government. Then, just before the season started, she at long last signed her first sponsorship deal since turning pro. It was with Nike, and it was a huge one: clothes, clubs, ball, shoes, the works. Nike intended to use Grace as their primary spokeswoman for their golf line, replacing the questionably qualified Gabby Reece. Although as of this writing they still have not launched any advertising campaigns using Grace, the rumbling out of Beaverton indicates that by Spring of 2004, she will at last get the push. By then she will hopefully be using their clubs; one big sticking point has been Grace's troubles getting used to the Nike irons.

Se Ri at her CJ signing ceremony

Mi Hyun Kim and Se Ri Pak also signed lucrative off-season sponsorship deals. Mi Hyun re-upped with her sponsors, KTF, securing a financial windfall that greatly increased the amount of money she was receiving from them. In addition, she also got a club deal with Asian club manufacturer Honma, and a clothing deal with Korean sportswear maker Kim Young Joo. Kimmie was rolling in the dough, and considering she was just coming off the best season of her career, she deserved it.

Se Ri, meanwhile, finally got a new full time sponsor to replace Samsung. Believe it or not, the best Korean player of all spent several months in 2002 with only Maxfli as a ball sponsor, and an otherwise empty hat. Eventually TaylorMade and AdidasGolf, all companies who are owned by the same corporation as Maxfli, came on board, but Se Ri did not gain a new primary sponsor until the season ended, when she signed on with Korean conglomerate CJ, the same people who sponsor Gloria Park. Reportedly the deal was the biggest in Korean sports history.

One by one, the ladies headed to America to train for the upcoming season. Interestingly, Se Ri did not head off until February of 2003; perhaps she needed the extra rest, owing to her various season ending illnesses in 2002. Regardless, when the season started in March, they were all ready to go.

March

Welch's/Fry's Championship: How Loooow Can You Go? (March 13 - 16)
The opening event of the 2003 LPGA season turned out to be a birdiefest. In the history of the LPGA before this event, only four players had shot 61's. In just the first two days of this event, four players shot 61 or better. It got so bad that even though Christina Kim shot a 67 on Friday, she *lost ground* to the field.

Se Ri ended up missing her first cut in more than a year, despite shooting 67-71. Not the start for the year she was looking for. However, Christina Kim, a rookie and the youngest player on tour, played sensationally, as did fellow rookie Young Kim, who was tied for second after two rounds.

The weather got tougher on the weekend, and both Kims faded somewhat. But still, they both notched top tens, great for their first events.

But it was Seoul Sister Grace who came the closest to winning. She shot a career best 63 in round 2, and had a chance until the end to take the title. She ended up tied for 4th, her first of 19 top tens on the year.

Grace was turned upside down by the low scoring at the
Welch's/Fry's event.

Se Ri nabs her first win of 2003

Safeway/Ping - 1-2-3 Finish (March 20 - 23)
Se Ri Pak recovered from the missed cut at the previous tournament rather nicely, I think. She went out in 7 under par 65 to take the first round lead at the next event on the schedule! After the second round, you had a result unique in LPGA history: Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak were all tied for the lead. But Annika took control in round 3, and going into Sunday, had a three shot lead over Se Ri.

That's when the fun started. Se Ri Pak was paired with Hee-Won Han, and both played brilliantly. Se Ri managed two eagles on the front side to snatch the lead from Sorenstam, who stalled with only one birdie all day. Before long, Se Ri's biggest challenger was none other than Grace Park, who had roared from behind with a bunch of birdies, even briefly catching Se Ri on the 15th hole. The event ended with Se Ri making one of the greatest shots of her career, a 45 foot par save on the 17th hole that allowed her to (barely) beat Grace by one shot. Hee-Won finished tied for third with Sorenstam, the first 1-2-3 sweep ever by the Seoul Sisters. Wahoo!

Also in March: Soo Young Moon wasted little time establishing herself on the Futures Tour by winning the opening event of the season. She would go on to finish second on the money list and get her exempt LPGA card for 2004. And Jimin Kang signed with CJ, joining Se Ri Pak and Gloria Park as CJ sponsorees on the LPGA tour.