•
Winther wins big at Polo•
Photo slideshow: Finals showdown
•
Gilchrist Academy, AJGA to enter partnership•
Junior Fantasy Golf: Final standings
By DAN MIROCHA
Assistant Editor
REUNION, Fla. – Talk about making the most out of your vacation.
In her first trip to the United States, Jung Min Lee captured one of the most prestigious titles in junior golf.
The 16-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, defeated 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion Jenny Shin, 4 and 3, to win the AJGA’s Polo Golf Junior Classic Friday at Ginn Reunion Resort. She is the third international girl to win the event and first since Paraguay’s Celeste Troche, who won in 1998.
Lee was 1 under after six holes, but had a 4-up advantage after Shin bogeyed Nos. 4-6. The pair traded pars the rest of the way, and when Lee played a delicate chip to within inches of the hole on the par-3 15th, the match was conceded.
“Her expression didn’t change the whole day,” said Shin, 16, from Torrance, Calif. “I think she’s mentally stronger than most of the players out here. That’s what makes her tough.”
Lee, who is one of six players on the Korean Junior National Team, has won five junior or amateur titles in Asia, including three this summer in Korea and Taiwan. She was playing in her first AJGA event.
“I just played my own game,” Lee said through an interpreter. “Driver. Ball on green. Two putts.”
It sounds simple, but that’s exactly how Lee breezed through five rounds of match play. Lee, who finished fifth in stroke play qualifying, was never extended beyond the 16th hole and trailed only once in five matches. In the quarterfinals, Lee was 1 down to Lauren Weaver after six holes, but birdied four of her next nine to win, 5 and 3.
“I’m focused on the course,” Lee said. “I don’t pay attention to other players.”
Shin had a much tougher test, squeaking by with 1-up margins in three matches before arriving in the finals. After she topped Stephanie Kim, 4 and 3, in the semifinals, Shin was asked to translate an interview for Lee. The pair had never met, but Shin, who speaks fluent Korean, learned plenty in a few minutes listening to Lee.
“I found out there’s more O.B. in Korea, and the fairways are more narrow,” Shin said. “So, I knew her driver was very accurate.”
Shin didn’t know, however, how long Lee hits it. Lee consistently outdrove Shin by more than 30 yards, leaving her short irons into the Watson Course’s tricky, sloped greens.
“She had a lot more advantage,” Shin said. “My shots were terrible today.”
Jay Chang, an agent who represents LPGA players Hee Young Park, Sun Young Yoo and Eun-Hee Ji, and translated for Lee, said the 16-year-old has the game to be a LPGA player. She’s one of the top five juniors in Korea and he expects her be on the LPGA in 2010 when she turns 18.
“She’s one of the new crop from Korea,” Chang said. “She’s ready to come here.”
However, it may not happen as soon as Lee would like. Chang describes Lee’s parents as very supportive, yet patient with their daughter’s budding career. Lee’s older brother is in the South Korean army and her father, who works for Samsung in Seoul, wants to make sure his daughter fully understands the difficulty in pursuing a professional career in the U.S.
Asked to describe how the victory at Polo ranked with her other titles in Asia, Lee spoke with a smile.
“It’s a different kind of happiness,” she said. “It’s so new. I’m overwhelmed.”
Shin knows the feeling. She had a breakout year in 2006 when she won the Girls’ Junior as a 13-year-old and placed in the top 10 of five AJGA events. However, her game took a dive last year when she didn’t post a finish higher than T-24 in three invitationals and was left off the Rolex Junior All-American list.
Shin rededicated herself to the game this summer, advancing to the semifinals of the Girls’ Junior in July and winning her first AJGA title in August – a playoff victory at the Stockton Sports Commission Junior Classic. Shin was also named a first-team Rolex All-American.
And though she was stung by the defeat at Polo, Shin left feeling vindicated. In two previous trips, Shin did not advance past the first round of match play. Her goal this year, she said, was to make it into the quarterfinals.
“Even when I was 4 down, I was smiling the whole way,” Shin said. “I wasn’t very sad. I’m just mad that I gave away the first six holes.”
• • •
Dan Mirocha is a
Golfweek assistant editor. To reach him e-mail
dmirocha@golfweek.com.
Final results from the Polo Golf Junior Classic,
played Nov. 22-28 at the Ginn Reunion Resort in Reunion, Fla.:
|
|
| FINAL |
|
| Jung Min Lee def. Jenny Shin |
4 and 3 |
|
|
| SEMIFINALS |
|
| Jenny Shin def. Stephanie Kim |
4 and 3 |
| Jung Min Lee def. Ani Gulugian |
3 and 2 |
|
|
| QUARTERFINALS |
|
| Ani Gulugian def. Madison Pressel |
2 and 1 |
| Jung Min Lee def. Lauren Weaver |
5 and 3 |
| Jenny Shin def. Kyndall Ardoin |
1 up |
| Stephanie Kim def. Victoria Kiser |
1 up |
|
|
| SECOND ROUND |
|
| Ani Gulugian def. Jane Rah |
4 and 3 |
| Madison Pressel def. Laetitia Beck |
2 and 1 |
| Lauren Weaver def. Tiffany Lua |
2 and 1 |
| Jung Min Lee def. Louise Larsson |
6 and 4 |
| Kyndall Ardoin def. Jennifer Johnson |
2 and 1 |
| Jenny Shin def. Alexis Thompson |
1 up |
| Stephanie Kim def. Erynne Lee |
4 and 3 |
| Victoria Kiser def. Emma Talley |
3 and 2 |
|
|
| FIRST ROUND |
|
| Jane Rah def. Victoria Sungmin Park |
1 up |
| Ani Gulugian def. Austin Ernst |
2 and 1 |
| Laetitia Beck def. Kristen Park |
2 and 1 |
| Madison Pressel def. Kyle Roig |
1 up |
| Tiffany Lua def. Courtney Gunter |
2 and 1 |
| Lauren Weaver def. Kristina Wong |
3 and 2 |
| Jung Min Lee def. Ginger Howard |
4 and 3 |
| Louise Larsson def. Casey Ann Kennedy |
2 and 1 |
| Jennifer Johnson def. Lindsey Weaver |
2 up |
| Kyndall Ardoin def. Kyung Kim |
1 up |
| Alexis Thompson def. Stacey Kim |
5 and 4 |
| Jenny Shin def. Alison Lee |
3 and 2 |
| Stephanie Kim def. Maria Piccio |
1 up |
| Erynne Lee def. Amelia Lewis |
7 and 5 |
| Victoria Kiser def. Alexandra Stewart |
1 up |
| Emma Talley def. Karen Chung |
3 and 2 |
•
Click here for stroke-play results.
Posted: 11/28/2008
print
email
discuss
