Which of Two, Kim Mi-hyun or Park Se-ri?

Kim Mu-hyun (KTF) got off to a strong start to catch two rabbits.

It was the first round of State Farm Classic (Total award $1.1 million) of US LPGA Tour held on August 20, in Springfield Rail GC (par-72), Illinois.

Kim recorded 5 under par and 67 with 6 bogeys and 1 birdie, ranking 7th jointly with 6 other players like Christ Curr (US) and Akiko (Japan). Morgan (U.K.), an unknown player, ranked solely first with her career record (9 under par and 63 strokes).

Kim could accomplish two goals If she wins the championship of this game. In fact, US LPGA means a lot to her. In 1999, Kim debuted in US and won the championship.

First, adding the award ($165,000), her total exceeds $ 1 million in 4 years of her US career.

In addition, Kim will receive a $100,000 bonus with her State Farm Series points currently ranked 1st. The bonus is given to the first ranker based on the sum of points earned in 10 US LPGA Tour games designated by ESPN. The last of the Series is the ongoing State Farm Classic.

Presently, Kim is leading the point race with 379.73 points. But, 300 points are given to the champion and, thus, if she loses the championship to players like Park Se-ri (263 points) and Teski (253), she will not get the bonus.

Kim showed a good performance, making birdie chances in 15 holes with misses of green in only 3 holes. Especially in hole 14 (par 4), Kim made a bogey. But, she snatched up 3 consecutive birdies from hole 15, and got ahead into the leading group.

Park Se-ri (Tailor Made) just ranked 38th (2 under par and 70 strokes). Park is aiming at championship 2 weeks in a row.

In the meanwhile, Park Ji-un (Ehwa Women’s Univ.) ranked 14th (4 under par and 68), Lee Chong-hyun (Hankook Tire) ranked 26th (3 under par and 68) in the first round. Park Hee-chong (CJ39 Shopping) ranked 58th (1 under par and 71) and has a long way to go to catch up with the leading group.

Young-Sik Ahn ysahn@donga.com