Grace Park Harvest Confidence

Grace Park (22), Cinderella of the field, signaled her resurrection even though she missed the title at the LPGA Corning Classic (total prize of $900,000) that was held at the Corning Country Club (par 72) in Corning, New York.

Park finished the final round with a 5-under-par of 67. She made 1 eagle and 6 birdies, but had to give scores back with 1 double bogey and 1 bogey. She tied for the fourth place with Rosie Jones, with the total of a 15-under-par 273. She recorded her third top-10 in this season.

Since she ranked sixth place in the Welch`s Circle K on last March, Park has never moved to the top-10 and has failed to pass the cut-off three times during the eight tournaments in which she has participated.

She was told that she has fell into the slump. But as scored well in this tournament, she showed the bright prospect for the US Women`s Open, the second major tournament in this season that will be open on 31st. Park told that she recovered 90 percent of her condition, and above all, the regaining of the confidence was the biggest harvest.

At the final round, her drive shots were a bit unstable, but she made up with the accurate iron shots. She recorded the 29 puts in total.

She started the first hole with a bogey. After making an eagle at the second hole, she made a run for the leader board, making three consecutive birdies. But she fell off the leader board with a double bogey at the sixth hole (par 4). Her tee shot went under the tree and the third shot was short after the lay-up. She finished the hole with four-on and two-puts.

Kim Mi-Hyun (24, KTF) ranked sixth place, recording a 14 under-par 274 in total. She finished the final round with a 5-under-par 67, making 7 birdies and 2 bogeys. Kim played an unsatisfactory play on the front nine with the unstable shots and puts, but she made four birdies without a bogey on the back nine.

Park Hee-Jung ranked 20th place with an 8-under-par 280 in total, and Jang Jung ranked 33rd place with a 6-under-par 282.

Meanwhile, Carin Koch won her first title, defeating fellow Swede Maria Hjorth and Scotland`s Mhairi McKay by two strokes. She finished the tournament with a 18-under-par 270 in total.

Kim Jong-Seok kjs0123@donga.com