Yoo wins her first LPGA major after blunder on 18

반전, 반전 또 반전… 최후의 승자는 유선영  

Just like last year’s U.S. Women’s Open, it was an all-Korean showdown at the first Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) major of the season on Sunday. But only one could take the traditional leap into Poppie’s Pond in the end, with the golfing world reminded just how critical every stroke can be.

Yoo Sun-young won the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, with an 18-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole, beating compatriot Kim In-kyung, who missed a one-foot tap-in putt on the 18th that would have won the tournament.

Both Koreans entered the sudden-death playoff at 9-under 279, but Kim’s epic mistake on the last hole of regulation proved too much to overcome.

It was Yoo’s first major title and her second career LPGA victory since winning the Sybase Match Play Championship in May 2010. She also surpassed $3 million in career earnings with her $300,000 winner’s prize from the major’s $2 million purse.

The 25-year-old from Seoul also became the second Korean to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship, with Park Ji-eun (Grace Park) taking the title in 2004.

Korean ladies have now won 13 LPGA majors, tied for the second most with Sweden behind the United States.

“I don’t think any words can describe how I feel right now,” Yoo told reporters at the golf club. “It feels better than my first LPGA victory.”

Yoo began the final round tied in fourth place and said she was not expecting to win the tournament.

“I didn’t think about winning today because I didn’t want to expect too much, and I didn’t want to let myself down,” Yoo said. “I was hoping today for some luck, and it looks like I got lucky.

“I thought I had no chance. I thought [Kim] was going to make the putt, but it didn’t happen.”

Kim, who has three wins on the LPGA Tour, was having a bogey-free performance before the par-5 18th. After making just one birdie on the front nine, she began to heat up with a birdie on the par-3 14th.

She sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th and then rolled in a 20-footer on the 17th to break a three-way tie for the lead at 10-under.

With Yoo already finished at 9-under after shooting a 69 in the final round and World No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan needing an eagle on the last hole to reach 10-under, the trophy seemed certain to be in Kim’s hands when she reached the green in three strokes.

When Kim placed a long curling birdie putt one foot away from the hole, all she needed was a routine tap-in.

 

Seconds later, the unthinkable happened as Kim covered her mouth with her left hand in shock, while the Mission Hills crowd gasped. The one-foot putt circled the rim of the cup and popped out.

It was her only bogey in the last round, but the cost was her first major tournament victory.

“I wanted to make the putt with the right speed,” Kim said.

“But coming up to it, I tried to take my time, and you know, the same routine. But I played straight, and actually just broke to the right, even that short putt. So it was unfortunate on the 18th.”

Her miss was also an unexpected result for Yoo, who later admitted that her caddie was even changing her clothes and getting ready to go home when Kim placed the ball one foot away.

“She really doesn’t miss those kinds of putts,” Yoo said. “But some people were telling me that that’s golf.”

Going into the 18th hole again to determine the winner, Kim looked already shaken as her drive barely missed the water and landed in the rough, while Yoo knocked her shot in the fairway.

 

	World No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan reacts after missing a putt that would have put her into a three-way playoff on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2012 LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship golf tournament in Rancho Mirage, California, on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Kim’s third shot landed on the edge of the green about 30 feet away from the cup. She eventually settled for par, but Yoo nailed an 18-foot birdie putt to seal the deal.

The victory was significant for Korean ladies on the Tour as it proved the vulnerability of World No. 1 Tseng, who has won five major titles and began the day as a co-leader with Karin Sjodin.

Tseng shot a 1-over 73 on the final day to finish third at 8-under 280.

The 23-year-old has already collected three wins from six tournaments this season and has knocked out Korean ladies in previous tournaments.

Yoo fell short of Tseng last week at the Kia Classic, but revenged the defeat with her major first major title.

Seo Hee-kyung and Yang Hee-young (Amy Yang) tied for fourth at 7-under 281 with defending champion Stacy Lewis of the United States and Karin Sjodin of Sweden.

Seo was at the top of the scoreboard until the 12th hole with a three-stroke lead, but faded with four straight bogeys on the last four holes.

World No. 2 Choi Na-yeon and veteran Pak Se Ri, who need a win at the Kraft Nabisco Championship to achieve career grand slams, shared eighth place with Natalie Gulbis.

Yoo made her LPGA Tour debut in 2006 and said she is already just one win away from reaching her goal for the 2012 season.

But even after smoothly sinking a birdie putt to claim her first major title and leaping into Poppie’s Pond with her caddie, Yoo said there was one thing she still missed from her moment of glory.

“My mother was with me for a couple of years, but now I’m all by myself in the tour,” she said. “It would have been much better if my family were here.”

 한글 관련 기사

반전, 반전 또 반전… 최후의 승자는 유선영

골프는 멘탈 게임이다. 2일(한국시간) 미국 캘리포니아주 란초 미라지 미션힐스 골프장에서 열린 LPGA 투어 시즌 첫 메이저 대회인 크래프트 나비스코 챔피언십(총상금 200만달러) 최종일은 그 사실을 여실히 보여줬다. 리더보드의 맨 윗자리는 지옥으로 추락하는 블랙홀이었다.

4라운드 중반까지 누구도 눈여겨보지 않았던 유선영(26·정관장)이 최후의 승자가 됐다. 연장전 끝에 한국 선수로서는 13번째 메이저 대회 우승컵을 들어올렸다. 유선영은 대회 전통에 따라 18번 홀 그린 옆 호수인 '포피 폰드(Poppy's pond)'에 캐디와 함께 몸을 던져 우승 세리머니를 했다. 2004년 박지은에 이어 8년 만에 두 번째로 한국인 '호수의 여인'으로 탄생했다.

◇반전1: 카린 쇼딘의 추락

6언더파 공동 4위로 출발한 유선영은 공동선두였던 청야니(23·대만)와 카린 쇼딘(29·스웨덴)에게 3타나 뒤져 있었다. 카린 쇼딘은 2번 홀(파5)에서 이글을 기록하며 2타를 줄이며 단숨에 11언더파 선두로 뛰어올랐다. 그러나 이후 보기를 5개나 기록하며 자멸했다. 7언더파 공동 4위로 경기를 마쳤다.

◇반전2: 서희경의 약진과 몰락

서희경(26·하이트진로)은 초반부터 약진을 거듭했다. 12홀까지 버디만 5개를 낚으며 파죽지세로 리더보드 맨 윗자리를 차지했다. 서희경의 페이스를 누구도 막지 못할 것 같았다. 그러나 한 홀의 한 샷이 경기 흐름을 망치고 말았다. 15번홀(파4)의 티샷 실수가 서희경을 수렁으로 몰아넣었다. 클럽 페이스를 빗맞은 공은 페어웨이 오른쪽 러프로 떨어졌고 거리도 짧았다. 서희경은 399야드의 이 홀에서 두 번째 샷으로 하이브리드 클럽을 잡았다. 너무 긴 클럽이었다. 클럽을 떠난 공은 그린 뒤 벙커로 떨어졌고 3온 2퍼트로 보기를 기록했다. 이후 서희경은 18홀까지 4개홀 연속 보기 행진을 했다. 스코어보드를 제출할 때 서희경은 끝내 눈물을 보였다.

◇반전3: 18번홀 30cm 퍼팅에 운 김인경

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◇반전4: 유선영 마지막에 웃다

4라운드에서 유선영이 리더보드에 오른 것은 딱 1홀 뿐이다. 18번홀(파5·485야드)이다. 그것도 자신이 잘해서가 아니라 김인경의 실수로 공동 1위가 됐다. 마음을 비우고 임한 연장전에서 승자는 유선영이었다. 유선영은 연장 첫 홀인 18번홀에서 세 번째 샷을 핀 4.5m에 붙인 뒤 천금같은 버디 퍼트를 그대로 성공시켜 생애 첫 메이저 대회 우승이자 통산 2승을 거뒀다.