Fairways and Greens

Se Ri goes back to school
Se Ri Pak has enrolled in a special program at a Korean University. She applied as a student of the Political Science and Public Administration division at Sookmyung Women's University (SM) in Seoul. The special program she applied for is called the ``Sookmyung Global Leader'' program, which is designed for people who have traveled a lot globally and who want to use their experiences to build a career in international relations. Usually only two or three women earn admission to the program in a typical year, but this year Se Ri was the only applicant who was accepted. She will receive a four-year scholarship, the university stated.

``I have many chances to meet a lot people from various fields as a professional golfer on the world stage. I want to study international politics and contribute to making good relations with other countries,'' Pak said.

She decided to study at the university at the suggestion of professional golfer Lee Kyung-chul, who is a visiting professor of the Golf Academy Program at the university.

Se Ri plans to study at this school during the off season and over the Internet during the season. She has not announced any intention to retire from golf in the near future or take any kind of sabbatical to do the program.

Meanwhile, Meena Lee was selected by the same school to study in their graduate school of social education. She is enrolled in "Golf Management Studies'', a new program offered for the first time this year by the university.

Congratulations to Meena and Se Ri for these achievements!

Six Korean Golfers form a new 'Club' on tour
Speaking of Se Ri and Meena, they and four other golfers who live in the Orlando, Florida, area have formed a new golf competition club designed to motivate them to work hard and have fun at the same time. The group they have founded is called the 'Golf Mania Group', or GMG for short. Besides Pak and Lee, the other four members are Sarah Lee, Jee Young Lee (with three Lees in the group, they should be Leeders in their fields!), Sae-Hee Son and Sun Young Yoo.

The club has come up with a penalty system to motivate them all to play well. At any given tournament, the first and second place finisher among the group members are exempt from fines; the third through fifth place finishers pay $10 into the kitty, and the last place finisher pays $20. The hope is that this playful wagering will motivate the ladies to try hard so they don't end up paying the fines. The money collected will be spent on group dinners or on charity.

They have created a sign and logo for the group, are all using special ball markers inscribed with their club's 'G', and even have gone so far as to give each member official titles. Se Ri, naturally, is the club president, while the personable Jee Young Lee is the club's official spokesperson. Meena Lee is the club's 'general manager'. Good luck to the GMG this year!

Song-Hee Kim signs sponsorship deals
Song-Hee Kim, the young golfer who electrified the Futures Tour in 2006 with five wins, made some big noise before the season even started. She has accumulated two big sponsorship deals already, deals that are the most lucrative for a Korean rookie since the days when Se Ri Pak was a newbie.

Fila Korea announced on January 9th that they were signing the young gun to a massive sponsorship deal. She will get the equivalent of $1 million dollars for a two year deal, plus additional incentives if she plays well. She will wear their clothes and feature the Fila logo on her hat. Song-Hee joins fellow LPGA golfers Hee-Won Han and Hyun Hee Moon on the Fila team.

On the 30th of January, Peugeot motors announced that they, too, had signed Song-Hee to a sponsorship deal. Hanbool Motors (sp?), the import arm for Peugeot in Korea, have extended her an offer, the exact terms of which were not made public. But among the perks are a free Peugeot courtesy car to drive at any tournament she plays. She will feature their logo on her person and appear in ads for the car maker in South Korea. Sounds like Seoul Sisters fans are not the only people who think Song-Hee is going to be a big star!

Jee Young gives $10,000 donation
Anyone who has had a chance to watch Jee Young Lee play has come away impressed by her power and incredible potential. She also makes a great impression on people with her personality: always smiling, she seems to love being out on the course playing the game.

On February 7th, Jee Young came to the LPGA's headquarters and surprised them with a $10,000 donation earmarked for LPGA-USGA Girl's Golf. "I want to show my gratitude and give something back in return," Lee said. "My motto when I play is, ‘Let's enjoy golf!' I love kids and want as many juniors as possible to enjoy the game of golf.” The manager of the program, Sherry Greene, said that the gift would be extremely useful to the organization. "Her generous gift will not only broaden the opportunity for more girls to learn and play the game for a lifetime, but inspire and empower them, in their turn, to give back."

LPGA-USGA Girls Golf was formed to provide an opportunity for girls, ages 7 to 17, to learn to play golf, build lasting friendships, and experience competition in a fun, supportive environment, preparing them for a lifetime of enjoyment with the game. It is the only national initiative of its kind. Even the LPGA's commissioner, Carolyn Bivens, was on hand to express her gratitude, calling Jee Young's gift "absolutely awesome". Way to go, Jee Young!

Shi Hyun's first Tovice spot
Late last year, Shi Hyun Ahn signed an endorsement deal with Tovice, a company that runs a chain of resorts in Asia. They intended to use her in advertisements for their resorts. The first ad featuring Ahn has been released by the company, and it's a surprising one. It features a simply posed shot of Shi Hyun doing a Mona Lisa smile dressed in a traditional Korean hanbok. When they signed her, the company gave the impression that they hired her for her athletic prowess, and to attract young people to try their resorts. While the photo of Shi Hyun in the hanbok is undoubtedly lovely, it doesn't exactly scream "athlete", does it? Nor does it express a contemporary, hip, now attitude that you would think would attract young people to their resorts. In fact, it's hard to see what if anything it has to do with their product. It'll be interesting to see if they continue with this theme in future ads with Shi Hyun.

Jin Joo Hong's Honma endorsement
When Jin Joo Hong won the Kolon-Hana Bank Championship last year and earned membership on the LPGA tour, it seemed apparent that she was going to be getting calls from eager sponsors. She is attractive, talented and noted for her fashion sense and style. And sure enough, the calls started coming in not too long thereafter. She signed with SK Telecom at the beginning of the year to be her primary sponsor, and now she has a second endorsement to her credit. Japanese golf club manufacturer Honma has signed her to use their clubs. She joins fellow LPGA player Mi Hyun Kim on their staff.
The three year deal will pay Jin Joo 40 million won per year (about $40,000). She will use Honma clubs and have a Honma branded bag. Honma has also written a complicated incentive program into her contract. If I understand correctly, should she win on the LPGA this year, she will get 30% of her winnings as a bonus from Honma. This continues down to a 5th place finish, which is worth a bonus of 15%. Presumably there is a continuum between 1st and 5th place finishes as well. She can earn up to 100 million won per year that way ($100,000). Apparently SK offers a similar incentive program, only she gets an additional 50% of her prize money for a win, down to 30% for a fifth place finish from them. Sounds like she's really got motivation to rack up some top five finishes!

In other Hong news, apparently the LPGA has changed the rule regarding non-LPGA members who win tournaments. In the old days, a non-member, like Hong in 2006, who wins an LPGA event received a two year membership on tour, the first year as a nonexempt player, the second as an exempt one. This year, they changed it so the player only receives a one year membership, but as an exempt player. No word yet on why the LPGA has made this change, but hopefully it wasn't because all the players who were taking advantage of this rule were KLPGA players from Korea!!

Mi Hyun Kim's New Book
Last year we reported that Grace Park was releasing a golf book for all her fans (it even came with a DVD)! Well, all her fans who speak Korean, anyway. Se Ri Pak also released one at about the same time. Now Mi Hyun Kim has followed suit. Coming soon (alas, also only in Korean) is Kimmie's book about how to become a golf superstar if you are barely 5 feet tall in your spikes. The book is called 'Super Peanut Mi Hyun Kim: I absolutely won't be defeated'. Great title, huh?

The publishers say that the book gives her life story, focusing on how such a small woman rose to be one of the best golfers in the world despite her size 'handicap'. They add that, if Lance Armstrong's book was called 'It's not about the bike', this book could be called 'it's not about the golf'. But there is obviously some golf in here, including talking about how she uses fairway woods and great putting skill to even the playing field for herself.

So if you happen to see it at a bookstore near you, and you can speak Korean, be sure to pick up a copy!

Other January and February photos

Click HERE to see some all the photos from this month!

Money List
The Koreans did not get out to a great start at the SBS Open. Despite more than thirty of them in the field, only two managed to score top tens, and many of the promising rookies failed to deliver on that promise. But at the second tournament, things turned around in a big way, with two young stars, Jee Young Lee and Angela Park, both slugging it out for the win. Park has established herself early on as the top rookie among the Koreans, but of course the season has barely begun, and there is still a lot of time for the other Korean young guns to find their games.

Se Ri Pak struggled a bit the first two rounds of the SBS, but roared back to a top 20 in the final round, then continued her solid play with a second top 20 at the Fields. She has yet to really kick things into gear, but the results are promising so far. Mi Hyun Kim and Hee-Won Han have also gotten out to decent starts, with a top ten each, but JJ and Meena Lee have struggled to get their games on track so far.

Congratulations also go to Aram Cho and Hye Jung Choi, doing well in their first events as exempt players; Na Ri Kim and Sae Hee Son, both returning from lengthy injury breaks; and Kyeong Bae, who very nearly had her first top ten in ages after struggling immensely for the second half of 2006.