Sweeping the U.S. Green

“As many as seven among the top ten are Korean players.”

The “Korean Army” turned out to be better than expected.

The Welch’s/Fry’s Championship (total prize of $800,000), the 2004 season LPGA opening match, was held on the Dellurik course (par 70) of the Randolphnos GC in Tuscon, Arizona. Although the title cup was given to Karen Stupples (England) who shot a 22 under par 258, Grace Park (Nike Golf) and Lee Jung-yeon (Hankook Tire.co.) both came second with scores of 17 under par 263, resulting in seven Korean players reaching the top ten.

One more reached the top ten compared to last years six, which then was a record as well. Furthermore, unlike last year’s championships, which were held in Korea and Japan and which allowed many Korean players to attend without seeds, Korean players attended as seeded players in this year’s competition held in the U.S.. This makes the achievement more special.

The “Korean Army,” which actively played this season, was formed with 25 players. They were 18 full seeded players like Pak Se-ri (CJ), six conditional players like Lee Sun-hwa (CJ) and “super-amateur” Michelle Wie, who is planning to play in six championships.

Two points that stood out from this opening match were that the number of title-aiming players increased and the activity of the young players.

The “Korean Army” made up of Pak Se-ri and three more players won seven times last year. However, with Lee Jung-yeon and others, the number of winners is most likely to increase. The possibility increased with the best player on the tour Annika Sorenstam’s (Sweden) announcement of her playing only 18 games to concentrate on her quest for a single-season grand slam.

“Cinderella,” Ahn Shi-hyun (Kolon) and Song A-ri (Bean Pole Golf) who finished fifth place, are expected to fight for the title of newcomer queen. It was especially surprising to see Ahn hit a hole-in-one on an unfamiliar U.S. course.

Past national team member, Jun Seol-ahn (23), also stroked an under par score for all four days and finished in eighth place with a 12 under par 268 right next to Pak Se-ri and Kim Mi-hyun (KTF), and showed great possibility to win in her debut season. On the other hand, three reached the top ten with Lee Sun-hwa in second in Lake Land Classic. The “Korean Tide” is unlikely to stop in U.S.

Young-Sik Ahn ysahn@donga.com