Best stretch of holes:
Inbee Park, final round, Safeway Classic (from way back to tie for second)
The Safeway Classic was one of the tournaments last year where Lorena Ochoa got an early lead and cruised to an easy victory. These events are generally not very exciting for Seoul Sisters fans, but at the Safeway, there were a few other distractions that made for compelling action. For one, there was Ji Young Oh, the young Korean rookie who was having the best tournament of her career. Then there was Christina Kim, fighting to make the Solheim Cup team (she would fail). Finally, there were two more teenage Korean rookies, Inbee Park and In-Kyung Kim, who went in diametrically opposite directions in the final round. Kim had not been playing all that well, but barely scraped under the cut line after a pair of 74's. In round three, however, she had a disastrous outing, shooting an 80 that plunged her down to the very bottom of the leaderboard.

On the other side of the coin was Inbee Park (who at that time was going by the spelling In-Bee Park). Park, like Kim, had only barely made it past the cut line following a 73-72 start. But unlike Kim, she kicked her game into a surreal gear and vaulted up the leaderboard. It hadn't started out that special. She began her round on the 10th hole, and though holes 10 and 12 are par fives that scream out for birdie, she made par on 10 and bogey on 12. However, on the treacherous 14th hole, where a bad drive puts you in the towering trees, and the green can be treacherous even if you are near the hole, she made birdie. After 7 holes, she was even for the day.

That's when the fireworks started. The 17th hole is perhaps not only the hardest hole on this course, but one of the hardest the ladies play regularly outside of a Major. It has a narrow driving area; go left, and you flirt with out of bounds or the trees; go right, and there is water and still more trees to worry about. Even if you reach the green, you have to contend with one of the nastiest three tier greens the women face all year. Park nonetheless made birdie on this hole, and followed that with a birdie on the 18th as well.

She continued her assault on the course on the front side. She dunked a birdie on the par 3 2nd, then made four more birdies in a row through the 6th hole to move to 6 under total and the top ten on the leaderboard. Amazingly, she then only parred the par 5 7th, a hole many players are thinking about eagle on. But on the 8th hole, the nastiest par 3 of the course and the only one on which I personally witnessed this round, she hit her tee shot to within a foot of the flag for her 9th birdie of the day. She would finish with a 64, 8 under par total, and a tie for 2nd place. And that was despite being only even par on the four par 5 holes on the course. I'm guessing Inbee is itching to give this course another try next year!

Honorable Mentions:
In-Kyung Kim, Round Three, Jamie Farr Classic
In-Kyung Kim told the press after this round that she had felt, ever since her heartbreaking loss to Lorena Ochoa at the Wegman's Rochester event, that she would sooner or later win an event on the LPGA. She gave it a good try in the third round in Toledo. She started this round with seven straight birdies, then one putted her remaining two holes on the nine to start with an astonishing 27 (with 9 putts). That tied the all time record for lowest nine holes on the LPGA tour (with Jimin Kang, as it turns out, who pulled off that number at the ShopRite Classic a few years ago). Kim was well aware of what she was doing, as she admitted in her post-round comments: "I was focusing on every shot; just hit the shot, next shot, thinking about the next one, and it was already past seventh hole... It was great nine holes." If she could have kept it going, she might have had a truly historic total score, but she made a few bogies after that, one more birdie, and carded a 6 under par 65. Still her best 18 holes score since joining the tour, but not quite the jaw dropping total she was on target to get.

Na On Min, final round, LPGA Championship
Na On Min had a great week at the year's second Major, the McDonald's LPGA Championship. Her most brilliant moment came in round 3, where a blistering 7 under par 65 moved her, improbably, to the very top of the leaderboard. In round four, she would have to fight off Suzann Pettersen and Karrie Webb, both of whom were absolutely on fire. Min played well at first, but three straight bogies before the end of the front nine dropped her down the leaderboard. It looked as though the rookie would not be a factor.

But she was not ready to concede just yet. Starting from hole 13, she launched a phenomenal run at the leaders. She made four straight birdies on those holes. Despite Pettersen simply refusing to make a mistake, Min was putting the heat on her. By this point, she had closed the gap to just a single shot with two holes to go. On the 17th hole, both Min and Pettersen hit great irons, but Min's was a little better. But it was Pettersen who walked off the hole with birdie, while Min was not able to get her fifth straight to keep pace. Min parred the 18th as well and finished third. A great effort, especially considering the way things had been going on the front nine.

Jimin Kang, Final Round, Tournament of Champions
Jimin Kang finished her year with a bang at the Tournament of Champions. She shot a final round 7 under par 65, the best score of the day, to vault into 6th place, her best finish of the year. She did the most damage on the back nine, where she birdied five of six holes starting on the 11th.

Sarah Lee, Round one, Michelob Ultra Open
Sarah Lee birdied every hole from 3 to 9 (except 8) to seize the lead in the first round of the Michelob Ultra Open. She would go on to finish third.

Biggest Diss of the year:
Christina Kim, Solheim Cup omission
It's an arguable point: should Christina Kim have been chosen as a Captain's Pick for the 2007 Solheim Cup? If so, who would she have replaced on that squad? How much of a diss was it when she was passed over for Nicole Castrale and Laura Diaz? Well, debatable it may be, but in my opinion, leaving her off the team was a very surprising move on the part of Captain Betsy King, and I was not alone in that attitude. Christina herself believed she was pretty much a lock to be chosen, and though she tried to put a brave face on in the media, later admitted that she was very disappointed and even angry to be passed over.

It was a bit odd that Christina didn't qualify outright for the team in the first place. She won a tournament in 2005 (her second), and was one of the strongest and most significant golfers on the 2005 Solheim team. Before the 2006 season, she went into an intense workout regimen that saw her drop 30 pounds and get into the best condition of her life. Everything pointed to her having a breakout year in 2006.

But instead, she had one of her worst years that season. For whatever reason, the new, more svelte Christina played far worse than the old one. She finished 35th on the money list, not bad by any means, but a definite step down from the two previous years. In 2007, she returned to action looking pretty much like she had in 2005, all her weight loss and conditioning work falling by the wayside. But her results did not improve, and time was running out if she wanted to qualify for the team. She was now being pressed by several young Americans who were having good seasons, like Megan Francella and Castrale. She finally made her first top ten of the year in June at the Ginn Tribute, and by July was putting up one good finish after another. But even after a second place finish at the Safeway Classic in August, she still was not able to work her way into the top ten on the Solheim list, which would have qualified her for the team automatically. Thus, she had to depend on the Captain to choose her, which of course didn't happen.

So, why was this a diss? Because it made little sense to leave a player off the squad who had so ably demonstrated what an asset she would be to the team. First of all, there is little doubt that Christina absolutely loves team golf, and even more, loves representing her country on a team. At the 2005 Solheim Cup, she was the top cheerleader on the squad. She kept things light with her antics and rah rah boosterism. She electrified the American crowds with her fist pumps, dances and cheers. And, importantly, she not only did this while playing herself, she also would follow her teammates and give them the same kind of support. Whatever she was doing, it worked: she compiled a very strong record, losing only one match and winning three. Considering the propensity of the American media to push the 'chosen ones' in their media coverage of sporting events, one would have expected them to focus on one of the young blond stars of that team, such as Paula Creamer or Natalie Gulbis. It was thus very telling that several magazines put Christina Kim on the cover as the iconic representative of the event. Her super intense cheerleading, dynamic attitude, and heart on her sleeve desire not only made her a fan favorite at the event, but also a favorite of the media.

In addition to being a great team player, her Sohleim point total was quite good. She was behind Castrale, who was 11th in Solheim points, but ahead of Diaz. Now, Diaz had been forced to take some time off to have a child, but there was little indication that she was at the level she had been at earlier in the decade, when she was arguably the strongest young American player. Castrale, meanwhile, had won in 2007, but was also struggling with nagging injuries that left her a big question mark in the actual event. Would she be able to play at the level she was at earlier in the year, or would she drag the team down? Based on her play leading up to the choice, she didn't seem at her best. At the Safeway, the final event before the choice, she only finished 45th, and only made the cut after a big rally on Saturday. Christina, meanwhile, finished tied for second, losing only to a player, Ochoa, who would not be in the Solheim Cup. The other players under serious consideration, Francella and Brittany Lang, also had major downsides. They were both ahead of Kim in Solheim points, but neither had done much of anything in recent play, particularly Lang.

Another consideration is the fact that Lang, Francella and Castrale would have all been Solheim rookies in 2007. Kim had the all important advantage of having been on the squad already. Several past Solheim captains have made it a mantra not to pick a rookie player to be on the Solheim team; "a rookie has to earn her way on" was their reasoning. Yet they threw that all aside to pass over Kim and put Castrale on the team -- why? By the reasoning of past Captains, Castrale should have been held to a higher standard than Christina if she were going to be chosen for the team. Yet not only was she not far better, a very strong argument could be made that she was not better than Kim at all.

Some have said that Christina's loudness would have worked against the team on enemy territory, and perhaps that was the reason she was left aside. Perhaps. But keep in mind that Paula Creamer did not endear herself to the European team in 2005 when she said that the Americans were definitely going to kick the Europeans' butts. Does anyone have any doubt that, if Creamer had been in Christina's position, King would have picked her for the team over Castrale? Perhaps the most telling bit of evidence comes from the European squad themselves. At the State Farm the next week, the commentators said they had talked informally with several Euro squad members, all of whom were shocked that Christina had been omitted. Several of them told the reporters they were, in fact, 'relieved' not to have to face her, knowing the level of passion she brings to the table. Do you think even one Euro player would have said the same thing had Diaz or Castrale been left out instead? When your opponents say something like that about you, that's the biggest compliment you can possibly get.

Even several months removed from the decision, and with the benefit of hindsight, knowing that Castrale did fine in her debut, the choice to omit Kim still nags. But we still have no way of knowing whether Kim would have been the better choice, since Kim was not given the chance to prove herself like Castrale was. We do know that Kim herself believed she had done enough to earn her spot, even telling a reporter she thought she was a 'shoo in' to make the team. And we do know that Kim had another runner up finish the following week at the State Farm, showing she was hotter than any of the other possible choices were at the time of the decision. So in my opinion, Christina's omission from the Solheim squad was without question the biggest diss the Korean golfers faced in 2007.

Best Party:
Se Ri's Hall of Fame Dinner, Orlando
The LPGA threw a humdinger of a party for Se Ri Pak in September to celebrate her coming induction into the Hall of Fame. I was fortunate enough to be in attendance and got to see the fun close up. Several important people from Se Ri's past showed up to fete her on her achievement, including Jamie Farr, whose tournament Se Ri has won five times (and counting!), and Hall of Famers like Karrie Webb, Beth Daniel and Amy Alcott. Se Ri was given all sorts of beautiful gifts, including a white gold Rolex that must be worth six figures. Afterwards, the guests feasted on a meal that Se Ri helped design, which included many Korean tastes mixed in with more Western fare. Later in the night, Se Ri and her fellow LPGA guests, which included a number of top Korean golfers like Jee Young Lee, Sarah Lee, Meena Lee, Sun Young Yoo, Lorie Kane and others, danced the night away (or at least danced until about 11 or so!).

For more details, check out the complete SeoulSisters write up here!

Most surprising result:
Esther Choe turns pro, struggles
In 2006, then 17 year old Esther Choe was chosen the AJGA's player of the year. It was a pretty easy choice to make: over the previous season, she had dominated junior golf. Although she didn't win one of the big three USGA events like Kimberly Kim had, she did nab three AJGA wins and four more top three finishes. At the time of the award, she had verbally committed to playing at the University of Arizona, and looked forward to a college career (although, given the way top young golfers have acted lately, she probably would not have stayed the full four years anyway).

However, after Choe played at this year's Nabisco, she shocked everyone by declaring she would not play college golf, but would instead turn pro. This decision caught her coach-to-be completely by surprise, and had apparently been made after Choe and her father had a long discussion with Nabisco champion Morgan Pressel, who also turned pro right out of high school (indeed, before she even finished high school). "What hurts most is we turned away three or four (players) because we were going to sign Esther," Wildcats Women's Golf coach Greg Allen said.

Choe played in a few Futures Tour events, where she by and large did well, notching four top tens in five events played. Her worst finish was a tie for 14th, her best a tie for second. So even though she was not lighting the pro golf world on fire just yet, there was at least some promise she soon would.

Choe did not play many events because she was focusing on getting her LPGA card in the fall. She would have to advance through one of the two sectional qualifiers first, of course, before getting to the finals, but few doubted that she would be able to do that. Most agreed that her biggest challenge was going to be to earn her exempt card when she got to Florida in November.

But amazingly, Choe played horribly at the first sectional qualifier in southern California. She was well back on the leaderboard the entire week, and wound up with a 6 over par total, one stroke worse than she needed to advance to the finals. OK, not to worry. There was a second sectional in Florida, and that sectional tended to be easier, because many of the top players had already advanced in the first sectional.

But Choe played even worse at the second sectional than she had at the first, shooting a 78-75 and missing the cut entirely. So, the top flight amateur star who had been generally considered one of the two or three best amateurs in the country at the start of the year found herself on the outside looking in regarding an LPGA tour card. She will probably focus harder on the Futures Tour in 2008, and hopefully will have the success there she needs to get her card for 2009.

Honorable Mention:
Koreans only win four events in 2007
In 2007, there were more Koreans on the LPGA tour than ever before, and more Koreans capable of winning events than ever before. Yet amazingly, the Korean contingent was only able to nab four victories in 2007, and no Majors, down from 11 wins and a Major in 2006 and 8 wins and two Majors in 2005. It was the first time that a Korean had failed to win a Major since 2003. The Korean downturn spread to other tours as well; a Korean did not win on the Futures Tour until June, and only one Korean golfer advanced to the LPGA from the Futures Tour in 2007 (down from two in 2006 and three in 2005). Even in amateur golf, Koreans were not nearly as successful as they had been in the previous two years. Why all this happened is a big mystery, but hopefully it was a statistical blip that won't be repeated in 2008.

Se Ri loses Nabisco;
See the story above in 'Heartbreaker of the Year'

Ji Yai Shin wins 9 KLPGA tournaments, 11 total events in 2007
More on that later!

Only one Korean exempt rookie on LPGA in 2008
Down from the ginormous number of Korean rookies in 2007, I imagine they dearth of rookies in 2008 was caused by a number of factors. Several of the players who looked good to get exempt cards (Na Yeon Choi, Amy Yang) underperformed at Q-School, and there were so few cards this year that it increased the difficulty still more. We didn't see a Korean win the Kolon-Hana Bank or a rookie advance through the Futures Tour, two other common sources of Korean rookies. And a large number of very young Koreans became rookies last year; perhaps at least some of those teens would have normally waited another year or two to join the tour in the past. In other words, last year, we got not only the usual 20 year old rookies but a batch of 18 and 19 year old golfers as well, hence the big class last year and smaller one this year.