Sun-Young Yoo wins the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship

April 1, 2012
LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship, 2012
Mission Hills Country Club
Rancho Mirage, CA

On the final 4th day, it started with Yani Tseng leading the field.
Soon Karin Sjodin made brilliant play getting 3 strokes ahead of everyone while Yani and Hae-Ji Kang stumbled. Unfortunately, Hae-Ji Kang's play went bad and never recovered. A great expectation seemed to fade.
In the meantime, a few Korean players followed steady within 2-3 strokes behind.
In the back nine, Karin and Yani struggled while Korean players, especially Hee-Kyung Seo, Sun-Young Yoo, and In-Kyung Kim ran steady plays.
Then Hee-Kyung Seo started to move up, making a few birdies getting in the lead.
Unfortunately, Seri Pak's run stopped short from the leader board and got behind.
In the last stretch, Hee-Kyung's unfortunate bogey put the difference by one stroke from the followers. The close game went on for the next few holes.
At near the end, at one time, Seo, Yoo, I.K. Kim, and Sjodin all tied at -9.
Yani fought back and got so close to a birdie a few times, but it apparently wasn't her day.
Sjodin's bogey put three Korean players in the lead.
Then came the long birdie putt by I. K. Kim making her the sole leader while Seo's bogey put her two behind.
I didn't care who wins among the three Korean girls. Anyone of them would make me happy.
At that point, it just seemed to be a matter of luck.
Sjodin's bogey at 17th put her three back at -7 but Yani's birdie at 17th put her two back at -8 behind I. K. Kim who was at -10. Yoo was -9 at that point.
Seo's hope did not materialize when she ended -7.
I. K. Kim's unbelievable shocking miss on her last short putt at 18th (about only a foot) surprised all and she ended at -9. Sun-Young Yoo finished earlier at -9. Two Koreans were tied at -9.
Now, it's all up to Yani to tie two of them at 18 by a birdie.
Can Yani make a birde? At this point, I had to leave my desk for an appointment that I couldn't miss.

When I returened 2 hours later, no, Yani didn't make the birdie. It wasn't her day.
In the sudden-death play-off, Sun-Young Yoo won.
What a rough day? How many hopes were crushed in the course of 18-hole play?
I hope everybody involved sleeps well tonight and recover well tomorrow !!

by WM

Quote from LPGA.com

It was a day of ups and downs for several players at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, but the one who came out on top stayed consistent even in a sudden death playoff to capture a victory at the first major LPGA championship.
It was Rolex Rankings No. 13 Sun Young Yoo.

After a one-hole sudden death playoff at the Mission Hills Country Club, Yoo defeated fellow South Korean and Rolex Rankings No. 20 I.K. Kim. The two entered the playoff at nine-under par after Kim missed a tap-in putt for the win on the 18th hole.

Yoo became the second player from South Korea to capture a victory at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, joining Grace Park (2004). She became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2010 Sybase Match Play Championship and previously recorded 23 top-10 finishes since her rookie season in 2006 including a runner-up finishes at the 2009 P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship presented by John Q. Hammons and the Kia Classic last weekend.
With this win, Yoo surpasses the $3 million LPGA career earnings mark and increases her total to $3,287,913.