From Birdie Queen to Prize-Money Queen
Has the era for "Birdie Queen" Park Ji-Eun (25Nike Golf) emerged?
Park ended up in 2nd place in the LPGA tours Sybase Classic, which lasted until the 24th, with a score of 10 under par, 274, but added her 2nd place prize money of $114,156 to her total list and passed Anneka Sorenstam ($546,483) to take the lead in the total prize money standings.
Added to that, Park also exceeded Sorenstam`s (five-tournament) average stroke per round rate of 69.58 with 69.47 (over eight tournaments) and overwhelmed Sorenstam (62.25) again in points for this years "Player of The Year" with 99.
Park Ji-Eun is greeting a golden time of her life this year as she watched a chance to win while cutting 3 strokes from her score with 4 birdies and a bogie in the final round. But 42-year-old veteran Sherri Steinhauer (USA) hardly made any mistakes to capture the championship with a 2 shot gap of 272. Park Ji-Eun, who failed to turn the match around while entering the final round with a 3-stroke difference with the leader, commented, "Sherri displayed such a consistent play. I failed to win but just want to enjoy this moment [being ranked first in prize money]."
Park Ji-Eun debuted in 2000 and has earned a championship each year for the past four years, but the fans that remember her amateur years prestige couldn`t be satisfied with her current performance. Park feels the same. Park said, "It wasn`t really a bad score, but lots of folks thought I wasn`t playing that well and Im in the same sheet of paper."
Park Ji-Eun, who finished her winter session training, said, "I`ve never trained so hard with my attention concentrated like it was." The shot range of her driver increased almost 10 yards, allowing her to use a club lower than before and this made the difference for her to be able to conduct more aggressive plays.
Park Ji-Eun notched 2nd and 3rd place in consecutive tournaments after the opening of the 2004 season and greeted the peak of her career with a victory in the major Nabisco Championship, which was held in March. Park commented the victory in that tournament affected and changed her views of golf.
"Before, I had thoughts of what would happen if I missed a putt or what kind of comments I would receive if I didnt make it, said Park. But after the Nabisco Championship, I could just really enjoy playing golf." Park is considered to be filled with talent, spirit, and much more in reserve.
Pak Se-Ri (CJ) achieved 10 come-from-behind wins out of her career total of 22 victories, whereas Park Ji-Eun has no comeback wins out of her five wins, which is a downfall for Park. But her pace is looking good as she made her way into the "Top 5" five times in eight tournaments. If Park maintains her pace, accomplishing her three goals (winning a major, winning Player of the Year, and finishing first in the prize money standings) simultaneously would be no dream.
Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com
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