SeoulSisters Awards

Weirdest moment:
LPGA NW Arkansas Championship:
Jin Young Pak plays in front of nobody at the LPGA Event that Never Was
This year, there were several unusual moments in women's golf, but perhaps the strangest was the case of the LPGA event that never was. A little explanation is in order. The LPGA NW Arkansas Championship was a new event on the LPGA tour in 2007. But right from the start of the week, the event was hit with torrential rains, conditions so bad that fans had a terrible time getting their cars out of the mud caked parking lots after each round. In fact, as the week dragged on, it became obvious that the tournament would have trouble finishing even one round, let alone more. On the LPGA, the rule is that a tournament does not count unless 36 holes are completed. On Saturday night, the officials decided that the weather report was so bad for Sunday that there was no way they could complete that many holes, and so they made the unusual decision to declare the event 'unofficial'. The players would get paid, but the money would not count officially on the money list.

This result was unfortunate for the local fans, as one of their own, Arkansas amateur star Stacy Lewis, was atop the leaderboard after one round. But there were ramifications for Korean golfers as well. One of the few players who had not finished her first round and who could still potentially catch Lewis atop the leaderboard was Jin Young Pak. Pak was a rookie on the LPGA who had struggled with injuries in 2007. She was also non-exempt, meaning it was tough for her to get into fields. Even though she had had a good tournament at the Jamie Farr Classic, she still was far away from earning her tour card for 2008. A top five finish at this event, or even a win, would have helped her a lot in that department. But since the money would not count, no matter how well she did, her LPGA status would be unaffected by the result. In fact, she would end up failing to maintain any card on the LPGA in 2008.

Even though the event would not count, they still wanted to finish the first round if possible, to declare an unofficial winner. But because the conditions in the parking lot were so dire, they made the highly weird decision that the round would be completed with no fans allowed to attend. Thus, Pak and the 20 or so other golfers finished their round on Sunday in front of only the volunteers and their own caddies. It must have been an eerie feeling to show up at an empty course, do your usual warmup, play three or four holes, then leave. In any event, Pak did make an early birdie, climbing within a shot of Lewis, but made bogey thereafter. She finished the event in the top five, which would have been her best ever finish, had it counted.

To complete the weird week, the weather turned out to be perfectly fine on Sunday. The LPGA would have been able to complete 36 holes in all likelihood had they wanted to, meaning the event would have gone into the record books as official, and Pak might have made enough money to save at least non-exempt status in 2008. But by the time they ascertained that the weather was fine, it was too late to change the decision to cancel the rest of the tournament.

Honorable Mentions:
Jee Young's muffed one foot putt in playoff vs. Pettersen
See 'Heartbreaker of the Year: Dishonorable Mentions' for details.

The "lost round" at the KB Star #4
See 'Clutch Performance of the Year', Honorable mentions.

Most touching moment:
Kimmie gives $100,000 to tornado victims
See 'Best Victory Celebration' above

JJ returns to pay respect to Korean War vets in Rochester.
In 2006, one of the most touching stories happened after an event was over. After JJ won the Wegman's Rochester LPGA, her father was approached by a local Korean American woman, who inquired whether JJ would be available to pay her respects at a local Korean War memorial. Every year at that time of year, the veterans of that war and the local Korean American community commemorate the anniversary of the start of the war. Her father enthusiastically agreed, and JJ was equally as happy to make this gesture. Right after she was done with her champion's duties, she and her parents traveled to the memorial park, where they greeted the stunned and happy veterans who were there. After paying their respects, JJ presented the president of the veterans' chapter with a check for $1,000, and a promise that she would return to pay her respects the next year, when she came back to town to defend her crown.

And Jeong Jang was true to her word. When she returned to Rochester in 2007, the first thing she did was arrange a trip to the memorial to pay her respects. For those veterans and many of her fans, JJ's touching gesture was one of the emotional highlights of the season.

Honorable Mentions:
Se Ri enters the Hall of Fame
See Above

Angela Park's Rookie of the Year speech
The Koreans have made it a habit to win the Rookie of the Year award. And they have started another tradition: giving touching acceptance speeches that leave not a dry eye in the house. In 2006, Seon Hwa Lee gave her entire acceptance speech in English, a language she was still struggling to master. The crowd responded with an enthusiastic standing ovation. In 2007, Angela Park would also give her speech in English, although for her, that was hardly a problem, since she is fluent in the language. But she also paid respect to her heritage by giving parts of the speech in Korean, and parts in Portuguese (Park is Brazilian and grew up speaking those two languages before moving to the US and learning English). The entire speech was wonderfully written, not just those parts. Especially touching was the way she paid tribute to her parents, others who had helped her along her career path, and her good friend Inbee Park, who had been with her from junior golf through to her fantastic rookie campaign. Congratulations on her great achievement, and good luck in the coming years to Angela Park!

Rookie to Watch in 2008:
Na Yeon Choi
For the past few years, I have written a brief blurb about a rookie to watch in the coming season. I have then enjoyed ripping apart my terrible predictions the following year. In 2007, I said that rookie Song Hee Kim was a 'sure bet for success' on the LPGA tour, to which I can only respond, with the benefit of hindsight, oops! (for those unaware, Kim only finished 99th on this year's money list). To be honest, I don't think many saw her completely mediocre season coming, after she had been so dominating and impressive in 2006 on the Futures Tour. But it just goes to show, nothing is truly a sure bet in golf, is it? We also said that Ji Young Oh was a player to watch. Well, she did maintain exempt status on tour, and had a few impressive results, although was not one of the top rookies in 2007. Angela Park was a fairly big surprise to me. She had been thoroughly dominated by Song Hee on the Futures Tour in 2006, and even Inbee Park had been significantly better than she. But Angela trumped them all on the big tour in 2007. Whether she will continue to be the big gun of this class in years to come, or whether other players like Inbee, Song Hee, Jane Park, Eun Hee Ji or In-Kyung Kim will overtake her, only time will tell.

Predictions for 2008? Well, this is one of the smallest rookie classes in a while. Hee Young Park is the only exempt rookie, and she looks good to be a factor in the Rookie of the Year race, although she's going to have her work cut out for her to claim that title. Among the non-exempt rookies, if Na Yeon Choi concentrates on playing here as opposed to in Korea or on the Futures Tour, she will be a sleeper. She is every bit the top KLPGA player Park is, and won the Q-School Sectional she played in. She has the chops, but time will tell if she will be able to acclimate herself to tour on a part time basis, as her conditional status will prevent her from setting her own schedule. If she can manage a few early top finishes, that will improve her status, and give her a good shot at a solid rookie campaign. Na On Min, who was in a similar spot on tour last year, managed to do it, and Choi has the talent, but it remains to be seen whether Choi can be similarly successful.

Favorite photo op:
Se Ri, Grace and Kimmie, Michelob Ultra
The Michelob Ultra Open is one of the most popular events every year on the LPGA tour. They treat the Asian golfers well, giving them their own special party every year. This year, the Big Three Korean golfers, Grace Park, Se Ri Pak and Mi Hyun Kim, posed for a series of wonderful photos at that tournament. It looked like they were having a ball, and their smiles and obvious camaraderie made for one of the best photo series of the season!

Click here to see more of these fun photos!

Honorable Mention:
Se Ri surprised by her fellow players, LPGA Championship
A close second to the photos from Michelob came at the LPGA Championship. Se Ri Pak had just completed her first round, which officially (at long last) qualified her for the Hall of Fame. As she came into the press room, she was surprised by several of her fellow Korean golfers, who cheered her and sprayed her with silly string. Se Ri certainly had a good time, and was touched by the gesture. At this same tournament, they also took several wonderful photos of Se Ri surrounded by her fellow Korean stars, who were all deferring to her as their 'onni', or older sister. It was a wonderful photographic record of just how important she has been to Korean golf, and being that it was reprinted in several major newspapers, including USA Today, it helped to spread the word about this important person in the American media, which too often overlooks the Korean phenomenon.

Grace Park, Se Ri Pak and Mi Hyun Kim at the Michelob Ultra Open in May

Some LPGA Championship photos of Se Ri and her posse

It's About Time Award:
I usually give this award each year to someone who has finally gotten a sponsorship after years of being ignored. But this year, I'm giving this award to Se Ri Pak, who finally made it into the Hall of Fame after waiting since 2004 to accumulate enough time on tour to qualify. Now that that is finally behind her, she can concentrate on making the second part of her career even more amazing than the first!

Best new young Player:
Na On Min
This award is given each year to the player who has made the biggest 'debut' on the world stage, either at the amateur or professional level. Generally speaking, I try to give this to a player who has not been making waves before the year in question. The award this year goes to Na On Min. Na On was not exactly unknown before 2007. She was a member of the Korean national (amateur) team, and as such played in several international tournaments. She won the 2002 Sun City Nedbank Challenge in South Africa. She also played a few events on the KLPGA while still an amateur.

But the first that most American fans heard of Na On Min was when she took part in the 2006 LPGA Qualifying School. She finished tied for 18th, just two shots out of earning an exempt card for the 2007 season. The 18 year old decided then and there to turn pro and try her luck on the LPGA.

At first, it was a tough go. She did not get into any fields. But finally, in late April, she got into the field at the Corona Championship in Mexico. She made the most of it: in her first ever LPGA event, she finished fifth (see the 'Best Start' category above). This finish got her into the field at the SemGroup the next week, but unfortunately she missed the cut. In her next start, however, she was back to her solid form, finishing just out of the top ten in 11th place.

However, it was her first Major which really made a name for her. Her next event was the year's second Major, the LPGA Championship. She played well in the first two rounds, but in the third round shot a blazing 7 under par 65 to vault up the leaderboard all the way into first place. Suddenly, with one round to go, this virtually unknown teenage Korean rookie stood on the verge of a truly great accomplishment. Indeed, were she able to win the trophy, she would become the youngest golfer to ever win a Major, male or female.

Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way. Min struggled on the front nine, and even four straight birdies on the back nine were not enough to get her the trophy. She wound up third. But she was in the hunt for the trophy until Suzann Pettersen sank a birdie on the second to last hole. Her first Major, just like her first LPGA tournament, was a smashing success.

Amazingly, she didn't play in the next Major on the schedule, the US Women's Open. But she did get into the field of the final one, the British Open, and once again, she played brilliantly, finishing tied for 11th. That would be her last really good finish of the year, but she easily earned enough money to earn a two year exemption on the tour. So next year, the fun really starts for Na On Min: she will be exempt and able to get into most fields she wants to get into. She will probably play all four Majors, and perhaps several elite field events as well. It will be interesting to see how she fares. But in the meantime, you can't argue with her immediate success in 2007: from a virtual unknown to a Major contender.

Honorable Mentions:
Ji Young Oh
Ji Young Oh was in some ways almost as much of a mystery as Na On Min. Yet the 18 year old, whose claim to fame was winning 6 of 6 tournaments she played in a minor league amateur circuit, managed to do something at 2006 Q-School that Min could not: earn an exempt card. In 2007, her success was not nearly as impressive as Min's, but she did manage a great tournament in Portland, contending for a while and finishing tied for 6th. And she did easily earn her exempt status for 2008.

Julie Yang
The only thing holding Korean American sub-teenager Julie Yang back was her age. But when she finally turned 12, she was at last old enough to play in AJGA events. It took her all of three events to claim her first win, becoming the second youngest golfer ever to win in that league. Whether she will continue to be a force is yet to be seen, but she certainly has gotten off to a good (and early) start.

Ha Na Jang
Ha Na Jang is a young amateur powerhouse from Korea who really made a splash for the first time in America this year. Jang is on the short side, but is extremely strong and hits the ball a country mile. Though still only 15, she looks like she has a great future ahead of her.

Her biggest splashes came at two of the biggest amateur events in golf, the US Girl's Junior and the Women's Amateur. At the Girls championship, she finished second behind Kimberly Kim in the stroke play competition, but unfortunately was beaten in the first round of match play. At the Amateur just a few weeks later, however, Jang did much better. She took 22 holes to get through the first round, but then trounced her fellow top Korean amateur Mi Jung Hur 6 & 5 in round two. In round three she faced another Korean American star, Tiffany Joh, and eventually beat her in 20 holes. Her fourth round opponent was someone, unbelievably, much younger than she: 12 year old Alexis Thompson. Jang made birdies in four of her first seven holes to put Thompson away pretty easily, 5 & 4. Finally, Jang was ousted in the semifinals, when she lost a close match with the eventual winner, Maria Jose Uribe. Their match was tight, with Uribe hanging onto a one hole lead much of the back nine. But on the 16th hole, Uribe put her ball into a ridiculous lie in the bunker, and it looked like Jang might at last catch her. Sonehow Uribe got the ball out of the sand and onto the green, then drilled a 20 foot par save to halve the hole. On the 17th, Uribe put her ball about 50 feet from the hole, while Jang was about five feet off. Again, advantage Jang. But Uribe incredibly made that putt as well, winning the match outright. Hey, it was just that kind of year for Korean golfers at all levels: their opponents more often than not seemed to make whatever they needed to make to deny the Koreans a win.

Although Jang did not win the Amateur, her great play marks her as someone to watch in the next few years!