Finishing heroics give Korea's Ji Women's Open title
Mike Dudurich
Posted 2009-07-12
It’s not stated anywhere in the bylaws of the United States Golf Association that in order to win the Women’s Open you must be Korean-born or pull off a spectacular shot on the 72nd hole of the event.
Eun-Hee Ji made sure both of those were covered Sunday afternoon, draining a 20-foot left-to-right breaker for a birdie on the 18th at Saucon Valley’s Old Course to win her first major championship. The 23-year-old doesn’t speak English, but she proved she knew how to handle Open pressure.
She became the fourth Korean-born player to win the title in the last 11 years. She was the first person to win in her second attempt since 1998 which, incidentally, was won by Korean Se Ri Pak.
And when she birdied the final hole, she became the first player since Lauri Merten in 1993 to win by a shot with a birdie on the 72nd hole.
On a day when the USGA moved tee markers on several holes on the back nine to create additional scoring chances, the contenders struggled, starting with Cristie Kerr, who started the day in the lead, struggled to a 75.
Ji, who trailed Kerr by two shots coming into Sunday’s round, recovered from two bogeys in her first four holes and a double-bogey at the 10th to and made three birdies over the final six holes to finish at even-par 284.
“I, you know, I didn't even dream about winning this tournament, but, well, you know, I did it,” Jin, who won the 2008 Wegman’s tournament on the LPGA Tour, said through an interpreter. “And I think this is going to be one of the most memorable moments in life.”
The long-standing thinking about winning majors is that if you hang around par, you’re going to have a great shot. That’s exactly what Ji shot Sunday.
And she capped it off in championship style, not only with the execution of the birdie putt, but getting herself mentally ready to execute it.
“On the green, I knew the worst possible scenario was the playoff, so I cleared my mind and thought, you know, let's give it a try, and then it just sunk in. Just went in,” Ji said. “Right before hitting the putt, I was nervous to the point where my hands were shaking, but, you know, once again, I told myself to just make sure I saved par.”
Even par provided a one-shot margin over Candie Kung, who won the Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in 2001. She’s in her eighth year on the LPGA Tour, where she’s won four times.
She started the third round in 37th place, but shot a 68 and jumped to fifth. Kung, of Taiwan, followed that up with a 69 Sunday that left her wanting when Ji finished in style.
“It was a little disappointing, but, you know, I'm happy where I finished at 1-over for the week,” Kung said. “I came in here thinking about finishing even par for the whole week, and I was very close to my own standard. Nothing I can do.”
Kerr, who won the 2007 Open at Pine Needles in North Carolina, appeared to be in control on Sunday, but suddenly lost her fairway-finding device on the back nine and couldn’t make birdies coming in.
“I hit a bad drive on 1 and made bogey, which is not the way you want to start out, but just yeah, it just didn't feel the same,” Kerr said. “I mean let's call it the situation that didn't make it feel the same, but if I can learn from it and be better for it the next time. I can hold my head up high. I left everything out on the golf course. I tried my heart out.”
While her driver didn’t help in her search for a critical birdie or two, her putter also betrayed her. She took 35 putts, including several coming down the stretch that she thought were good enough to go in. When they didn’t, the mental toughness edge she was thought to have because of her earlier Open title disappeared.
Kerr finished with a 75, tying In-Kyung Kim of South Korea for third.
Two other American hopes for the title also couldn’t close the deal. Brittany Lincicome, who made an eagle on the 72nd hole of the Kraft Nabisco earlier this year to win, finished fifth after shooting a 70.
“I mean, I gave it a good run,” Lincicome said. “It's amazing. I think, now that I'm getting older, to realize how mentally prepared and how mentally tough you have to be for this week. I've never really noticed, I don't know, just maybe been younger and now I'm a year older I'm kind of realizing, but you like give up one second out there you're going to make some pretty big numbers. You have to -- every shot really counts and you have to really put a lot of thought into it.”
Perhaps the hottest golfer in the field coming into the Open was Duramed Futures Tour player Jean Reynolds. She had been a regular finisher in the top five of events the last month or so and quickly became a fan favorite at Saucon Valley.
She was third going into the third round, but shot 74-77 on the weekend. When asked what she learned from this week, she said, “Don't go at pins on Sundays,” she laughed. “I went at a couple pins today and just made stupid bogeys there, and I mean, you just can't do that. You just have to go middle of the green and take your two-putt and get out of there. If you make a good birdie there, then you've done a good day's work, but don't fire at flags.”
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As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf.
He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com.
Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August.
The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at