Moon Soo-young and Ahn Si-hyun Tied For Fourth

It was still an unripe “Green Apple.”

In the final round of the LPGA Corning Classic (prize money: $ 1 million) which took place in the Corning Country Club (par 72), in Corning, New York, USA on the 31st, Ahn Si-hyun (20•Kolon Elord), who kicked off the round standing in fourth place with a 10 under par and a 5-stroke gap behind the leader, teed off a 300 yard driver shot with some help from a back breeze on the fifth hole (par 5) and succeeded in 2-on to sink the 7.5m eagle putt and started to swing upwards after recording a birdie on the 2nd hole (par 5).

Ahn also made a birdie on the 11th hole (par 3) to make the score 14 under par. Michelle Estill (USA) and Anneka Sorenstam (Sweden), who played in the group right after Ahn, scored 15 under par each until the 10th hole to close within a stroke of the leader.

A problem rose on the 12th hole (par 5). Ahn Si-hyun set up a 1m birdie shot after succeeding 3-on with a wedge, but Ahn tapped the ball to pull to the left and missed the shot. Ahn fell in the next two holes with consecutive bogies and dropped out of the championship race. She commented, “After missing the birdie putt on the 12th hole, I lost presence of mind.”

Ahn Si-hyun, who placed tied for fourth place with a 13 under par, 275, listed her name for third time in the Top 10 this season and passed Song A-ree (Bean Pole Golf•329 points) with 333 points to stand in 1st place in the “Rookie of the Year” battle.

Moon Soo-young (20), who participated in the LPGA tour three times as a conditional qualifier last year with her personal best in the ShopRite Classic with a tie for 18th place, made a pitch with bogie-less play with a 6 under par, 66 and notched her name in the Top 10 for the very first time.

Moon who is a native of Ke’umsan, Choongnam province, which is famous for ginseng, is a top prospect who swept the junior competition Ik-Sung Cup in 1999 and 2000. She received a full seeding this year as she stood second place in prize money standings after capturing two wins in the second division tour.

Sorenstam performed with late fighting spirit to take birdies in even holes and even pars in odd holes in the later half and notched an 18 under par, 270 to capture the championship. It was the 51st win of her LPGA career and her third season win so far. Sorenstam, who holds the most wins, recovered to take the lead in the prize money list, passing Park Ji-eun (NikeGolf•$652,089).

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com