I’m a bit frustrated by the lack of information concerning this week’s CJ Nine Bridges Classic. There is no television coverage this week so I’m relying on scant internet information to provide me with details. I can find out and pass along the basics of the event such as dates and times but I can’t fly out to South Korea to watch it. Too bad for me!
It’s a bummer that with all of the three-hundred plus channels I get through my premium cable subscription that I can’t watch the top golfers on the LPGA tour compete at one of the premier golf courses in the world. This is the only official LPGA event held in Korea.
Even the European Tour gets better coverage than this!
Not only is this going to be an exceptional tournament but it’s being held at the beautiful Club at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, the first of it’s kind in South Korea to feature bent grass fairways. The views of Halla Mountain in the distance and natural topography make golfers feel as if they are not on a man-made course at all but rather one with nature.
It has to be a great feeling to be able to hold up a trophy in your own country with fans cheering and your picture on the front page of the sports section. This week Grace Park seeks to defend that title she earned when defeating both Annika Sorenstam and Carin Koch in the 2004 tournament. Both Swedes tied for second place but it was the South Korean native who took home the accolades.
What a difference one year can make. Last year Grace Park was in top form securing second place on the ADT Official Money list. She received her first Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average and won her first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, as well as the Nine Bridges Classic. An unofficial event, the Wendy’s 3-Tour Challenge, also went into the “win” column for Park as well as seven runner-up and three third-place finishes.
This year is entirely a different story for Park. Her lingering back problems have thrown her game into a downward spiral causing the South Korean to slip into 38th place on the money list. Out of nineteen starts Grace has secured only three top-ten finishes. Her meager earnings of $318K could use this end-of-season victory to catapult her back into contention for the start of the 2006 season.
This victory won’t be an easy one for Park. Her competition includes fifth-ranked Korean Jeong Jang who claimed a wire-to-wire win at the Weetabix Women’s British Open. The victory was important because it was her first and her playing partner happened to be Annika Sorenstam.
South Korean Meena Lee will be in attendance. Lee won her first LPGA tournament, a major just like Jang, at the Canadian Women’s Open. U.S. Women’s Open champion Birdie Kim tackled amateur Morgan Pressel for her exciting victory, yet another first-time win at a major championship this year. The Asian contingency pretty much swept up all of the major tournaments! Oh, except Annika took home the trophy at the Kraft Nabisco Championship!
Office Depot Championship winner Hee-Won Han and Safeway Classic Champion Soo-Yun Kang as well as LPGA Corning Classic winner Jimin Kang are also expected to attend.
Jeju native Bo Bae Song won three events on the KLPGA tour last year and will attempt a first-time win on the LPGA tour. Song is a native of the island so she will surely have the crowds’ attention.
Of course Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer are also in the fray which will add even more pressure to Park as she contends not only with the ladies on tour but with her own medical problems.
Sorenstam is always in contention. She claimed the top spot on the money list, has held up a trophy eight times on tour this season alone and has already secured the Rolex Player of the Year award. So what can Annika do for an encore? If Sorenstam can win the three tournaments remaining this season her total of eleven wins would equal her best to date.
Paula Creamer won her fourth event in Japan this week at the MastersGC tournament. A playoff against Japan’s hometown girl, Chieko Amanuma, at the 18th hole didn’t pressure Creamer as she confidently sank an eight-foot birdie putt to secure her second win in Japan this year. The Pink Panther claimed her first victory in Asia at the NEC Karuizawa in Japan this past August.
This week’s 54-hole event will begin on October 27th. In total there will be 69 golfers competing, most of whom have already claimed a victory. The winner will receive a hefty sum of $200,000 out of a total purse of $1.3 million.
If I had to make a wager I would give this win to Grace Park. She seems comfortable at this venue. In her three appearances Park won, was a runner-up and finished in a tie for 11th place. Although her stats are good, her back needs to cooperate. If her pain overtakes her, Annika seems to be the likely champion here this week.