Guess what folks?!  Another Korean woman just won another US golf title: Jennifer Song won the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the Red Tail Golf Club near Boston on Sunday.  And she beat another Korean-American – Kimberly Kim – in the finals to take the title.  What are we feeding Korean woman to win all these golf tournaments?  Oh and btw, in the professional ranks, Jiyai Shin won the Wegman’s LPGA Championship this past weekend.  What is it with Korean women?  So the Public Links Championship seems to be a feeder system for Korean women golfers.

Korean-American Pearl Sinn grabbed the title two consecutive years in 1988 and 1989, and Michelle Wie rose to stardom in 2003 by becoming the youngest champion ever at the age of 14. Lee Eun-jung, then a student at the Daewon Foreign Language High School, was a surprise winner in 2005, and Korean-American Tiffany Joh claimed the title twice in 2006 and 2008.

Michelle Wie is the most heralded female golfer in the world but she’s not the best: that honor goes to Lorena Ochoa of Mexico.  However, behind Ochoa are dozens of Korean players who have the talent to win on tour, as evident with Jiyai Shin’s win this past weekend at the Wegmans LPGA Championship.  Of the 122 international players on the LPGA tour, 47 are of South Korean descent.  When we traveled a month ago to New Jersey for the Sybase Classic, we were given special access to cover the tournament.  What we discovered quickly when we first walked into the dining area was the obvious prominence of Korean players.  Many of the players had families members accompany them.  The challenge for these ladies is to master the English language and better engage sponsors.  Their performance is definitely not in question.  So what separates the Korean players apart?  Here’s an interesting response from Jiyai Shin over the weekend.

“We want to boost the image of Korea,” Jiyai Shin said in Korean. “Even though we might not always be physically competitive with players from other countries, we want to overcome that with will power. That’s the mind-set I try to have.”

It’s not always easy just because you’re Korean, female and a professional golfer.  Below is an interview with Jeehae Lee from a month ago.  She’s a LPGA rookie and she shares a little bit about what it’s like playing professional golf.

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