Koreans represented at the Masters with a strong showing from Anthony Kim, KJ Choi and YE Yang.  Anthony Kim came in 3rd place after a huge final day with 6 birdies and an eagle, posting a -12 before the final groups arrived.  KJ Choi was partnered up with Tiger Woods for 4 straight days at the Masters and ended up with the same exact score with Tiger,  for all four days.  What are the chances?!  KJ actually lead the tournament briefly in the middle of the round, but on hole #13 he fell apart with the first bogey of the day.  YE Yang hung in there as he was partnered with Anthony Kim during the final round.  KJ came in tied for 4th with Tiger Woods and YE Yang tied for 8th.  That’s three Koreans in the top ten at the 2010 Masters!  One of these days, one of these guys is going to break through and the champion’s dinner is going to have Korean bbq and kimchi.  That’s going to be one big dry cleaning bill for all those green jackets.

Yeah we know that Tiger Woods is playing at the Masters but did you know there are over 90 other players who are showing up to win the green jacket?  And btw, this year has the most number of Koreans participating at the Masters.  Represent!  We’ve got Anthony Kim who is fresh off his PGA tour win at the Shell Houston Open.  There’s 2009 PGA Champion Y.E. Yang, the first man to ever stare down Tiger on the final day and surpass him to win a major.  K.J. Choi will be paired up with Tiger Woods in the first round of the Masters, the group that will be most closely watched.  But it doesn’t stop there because Yang Yong-Eun of the Asia Tour, US Amateur Winner An Byeong-Hun, and Asian Amateur champion Han Chang-won, are the next generation of Korean golfers that will be competing.  That’s a whole lot of Koreans, young and old, who will be competing for the greatest green blazer.  Hwaiting!

Anthony Kim won the Shell Houston Open in a sudden death playoff over Vaughn Taylor to win his third PGA tour title, and the first in 2 years.  It was revealed today that he had been playing with a torn ligament in his thumb and that it will require surgery and keep him out of competition for a significant amount of time.  He battled through the pain and won with the pressure of a playoff.  He heads into the Masters, the first major of the golf season, with a lot of confidence and momentum, that is if his thumb can hold up.

AK had a putt to win it on the final hole of the tournament, but he wasn’t able to sink it, which pushed him into a playoff against Vaughn Taylor.  However, he stood strong and focused to earn the Shell Houston Open win.

“Two years ago, that bag may have been in the water,” Kim said. “I might not have had clubs to go to the playoff. But I just feel calm out there, I feel no sense of urgency. It’s something that’s happened naturally and not something that’s been forced.

“I’m comfortable with who I am out there. I found my identity.”

“I just look back at last year, after the season was over, I was just complaining about everything,” Kim said. “I felt like I deserved to win a golf tournament without trying. That’s not how it is.”

“I’ve put in a lot of hard work, so I feel like when I’m out there, I know I’m going to do well. Having that confidence really has propelled my game, I feel like, to a different level.”

Source: Golf.com

Anthony Kim played on the west team on Friday night’s NBA All-Star Celebrity game, which included other celebs and athletes like Chris Tucker, Terrell Owens, Mark Cuban and Common.  He played great defensive (including a steal), lead a couple of fast breaks, and dis’d out a couple of nifty passes.  I believe this is the first Korean-American to ever participate in an NBA All-Star celebrity game.   SWEET!  Now if we could finally get someone to play in the NBA full-time.  Anthony Kim must have been a kid in a candy store because not only did he play basketball at All-Star weekend, but he was coached by Magic Johnson, the player he grew up watching and idolizing as a Laker’s fan.

Anthony Kim made a guest appearance on The Jay Leno show on Monday night to teach Jessica Alba how to putt.  First it’s pretty cool that Jay Leno referred to AK as his friend and he was on national television, and secondly, it was really cool that AK got to cozy on up to Jessica Alba and teach her how to putt.  She almost made the first putt after Anthony’s instruction but she left it a little short though it was on line to go in.  It was then AK’s turn and he quickly set up and stroked a power putt up the ramp into the buddha statue for a hole in one.  Sure he’s a professional, but there had to be some nerves putting in front of a national television audience on a contrived hole. Check it out below!

What an interesting week with our face to face interview with Asian sensation RAIN and a week of Korean women triumphing and being dismissed.  The most exciting hour was Friday evening with RAIN and James McTeigue, the director of Ninja Assassin.  We were one of the very first people to speak with RAIN on his press tour to promote the upcoming release of Ninja Assassin.  He was very nice and genuinely happy to see us when we first entered the room.  We didn’t know what to expect because you read so much about how huge he is in Asia and you wonder what he’s like.  He was actually very social, talkative and very comfortable in his own skin.  He clearly does not lack confidence, even with the difficult task of having to speak English for a long line of interviews.  What was most interesting was that he followed us out to the waiting room and essentially chilled with us while we packed up our gear.  It seemed like he wanted to chat more and it wouldn’t be a surprise because he was probably exhausted from speaking English during the interviews.  He just wanted to hang with his Korean-American homeys.

What a week of Korean women!

So which Koreans were on TV this week? There were four Korean women to one Korean man. Anthony Kim was seen on NBC this weekend, winning the Kiwi Challenge down in New Zealand. It was actually a tape delay from the previous week. But this was the week of Korean women with two Korean athletes winning their respective competitions. Kim Yu Na won the Skate America championship in Lake Placid, which may presage a gold medal at the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver. Michelle Wie won her very first LPGA tournament down in Mexico against stiff competition at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico. However, for Korean beauties, it wasn’t such a great week with two ladies competing in separate model competitions losing out before the end. Catharina Lee was a finalist for the Victoria Secret runway model competition before going home when they whittled it down to the final five. And Jennifer An almost made it to the very end on America’s Next Top Model but was sent home as well. It’s pretty cool that we’ve Korean women are beautiful, athletic and ambitious. You go girl!

Golf season is unofficially over as in all the important tournaments are done but golf is still in the news.

Korean Amateur Golfer Qualifies for the Masters Tournament
Han Chang-Won of Korea earned a spot in the 2010 Masters Tournament with a victory in the inaugural Asian Amateur Championship in China.

“I knew I was leading by five or six after the first nine holes, but I was trying not to think about the result,” Han said. “Anything can happen in a round of golf and I was very nervous towards the end. I have to admit that it was the thought of playing in the Masters that made me nervous. I had never even thought it would be possible for me to be playing in the Masters as an amateur.”

Han Chang-Won becomes the second Korean amateur that will be playing at the 2010 Masters tournament because An Byeong-Hun also qualified by winning the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship. And oh yeah, Danny Lee of New Zealand was at this year’s Masters as the winner of the U.S. Amateur the previous year. What’s with all those young Korean golfers?

Anthony Kim Loses in the Finals of the World Match Play Championship
AK lost to Ross Fisher at the World Match Play Championship in Spain. He had dominated Robert Allenby the previous day to make the finals.  At least AK can say he’s getting closer.

Na Yeon Choi Goes to Korea and Wins The Hana Bank KOLON Championship
Ladies golf is still in play and the professionals traveled across the Pacific to South Korea. Na Yeon Choi made birdie at the last hole for a 5-under 67 on Sunday, giving her a one-shot victory over Maria Hjorth and Yani Tseng at the Hana Bank KOLON Championships.   Choi won the Samsung World Championships in September with an eagle at the par-5 last hole.

Update from the PGA Tour website on late Wednesday: A statement from the Australian on the PGA Tour website read: “While I feel like the comments published were taken out of context, I did call Anthony to apologise for anything that I said or inferred that could possibly portray Anthony as anything less than a professional of the highest calibre.”

Kim has accepted that apology and commented; “we are both moving on”.

Intriguingly the duo could soon lock horns again as both are scheduled to play at the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain at the end of the month.

Update from ESPN on Wednesday:  ”Kim ‘crushed’ by Allenby Allegations.”  Looks like it’s getting a little heated with Fred Couples backing up AK that he wasn’t out partying during President’s Cup week in San Francisco.

“I promise you, there’s no way you can go out and beat a guy like Robert Allenby 5 and 3 if you’re out until 4 in the morning. There’s just no way,” Fred Couples told Seattle radio station KJR in an interview Wednesday on its “Mitch in the Morning” show. “It kind of crushed him. It was the best week that he ever had and those comments kind of crushed him.”

“Absolutely false,” Kim said, according to Golf World. “I was at the hotel, had dinner with the team, met my buddies for about 20 minutes, then went straight to my room. I was in tip-top shape. If Robert had that to say, he maybe needs to practice a little more.”

Couples said he told Kim he had to “let it go under the rug quick” and said that Allenby had called Kim to apologize.

——-

Anthony Kim is the best Korean-American golfer and one of the best golfers in the world.  He’s young, brash and has got balls of steel.  He’s got all the talent in the world but his issues previously were work ethic and focus.  Well, he finally cleaned things up and he had a breakout year last year by winning twice on the PGA tour and also dominating at the Ryder Cup.  This past weekend was the President’s Cup, a team golf competition between the Americans and the Internationals not from Europe.  Well, AK was ok during most of the weekend but he sure stepped up during singles competition by beating up on Robert Allenby.

Interestingly, Allenby suggested afterwards that AK may be back to his old ways because it was hinted that AK was out partying the night before his match against Allenby and AK showed up at the hotel a little sideways at 4am.

Allenby said friends here witnessed Kim getting back to the team hotel, in Allenby’s words, “sideways” at 4 in the morning, less than five hours before his scheduled tee time against Allenby at Harding Park.

“Some guys (from the U.S.) who didn’t play well played very well today,” Allenby said after the U.S. downed the International team, 19 1/2 – 14 1/2, to win its third consecutive Presidents Cup. Kim, going out in the fourth match of the day, drummed Allenby, 5 and 3, running his record in the matches to 3-1.

“Maybe we should all take the theory of Anthony Kim,” Allenby said. “Get home at 4 o’clock (in the morning) and then go shoot 6 under.”

Asked if his comments were on the record, Allenby said, “I don’t care. Ask his playing partners. Ask his team. He is the loosest cannon in that team.”

Allenby went on to call the 24-year-old Kim golf’s “current John Daly.”

Informed of Allenby’s comments outside the U.S. team cabin, Kim said reports he didn’t get back to the team hotel until 4 a.m. were “absolutely false.” Kim said he joined his team for dinner Saturday night, met up with friends for 20 minutes and went “straight to my room.”

Said Kim, “He said that today? Wow. That’s pretty surprising. . . . I hope that was a joke.”

Told it was not, Kim added, “I’m actually pretty surprised that he said that. I was in tip-top shape coming into today. When you get sat out in a match (as Kim did Saturday morning in foursomes), you’re out there to prove a point.”  Read the full article at GolfWeek.

The President’s Cup starts today in San Francisco as all eyes in the golf world converge on this bi-annual team golf event.  It’s a team of American golfers against foreign golfers who are not citizens of Europe.  The Euros have their Ryder Cup which happens during the off years.   The President’s Cup will feature two Koreans: Anthony Kim on the U.S. team and Y.E. Yang on the Internationals.  It’s pretty cool that we there’s someone of Korean descent on both sides competing and representing.

Anthony Kim made a big statement last year at the Ryder Cup when he stared down everyone he went up against and took them down like a Tiger hunting for food in the wilderness.  It stamped off a remarkable year when he won two PGA tournaments during 2008.

Y.E. Yang is making his first appearance on the International team.  Usually the Korean that represented on the International team was K.J. Choi, but the most successful Korean golfer this year was Y.E. Yang.  He stared down Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship and beat him on an extraordinary hybrid shot on the 18th hole that would give him the Wanamaker trophy.

It could get interesting if Y.E. Yang is matched up against A.K.  That would be a cool dual between the Korean and the Korean-American.   However, what people want is a rematch of the PGA Championship between Tiger Woods and Y.E. Yang and you know everyone wants to see that!

Great to see the success of Korean golfers on the PGA Tour.

Anthony Kim is one of the young guns on the PGA Tour and someone who’s been mentioned to challenge Tiger Woods in the future.  He’s a home grown player who grew up in Southern California and was an All-American in golf at the University of Oklahoma.  At the age of 24, he’s won two times on the PGA Tour and he dominated at last year’s Ryder Cup.  Now he’s giving back to the youth.  Anthony Kim was announced on Tuesday as the first player to be a mentoring PGA Tour professional for participants of The First Tee.  See press release below.

AKRON, Ohio — Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., chief executive officer of The First Tee, announced a new program Tuesday to engage young touring professionals with participants of The First Tee. Anthony Kim, a third-year pro and two-time PGA TOUR winner, is the first player to partner with The First Tee for the program and will serve as co-chair.

“We are delighted Anthony has agreed to join us as co-chair and to mentor and inspire The First Tee participants as they learn valuable life skills through the game of golf,” said Barrow. “A.K.’s interest and leadership will encourage other PGA TOUR and LPGA professionals to become involved with The First Tee, ultimately impacting the lives of more and more participants across our Chapter network.”

The initiative, called the Young Ambassadors Council, formalizes player involvement with The First Tee in their hometowns, at tournament sites, fundraisers, and other special events. Kim, a Dallas resident, recently visited The First Tee of Dallas, hosting a clinic for 38 participants on the driving range, where he demonstrated shots, answered questions, signed autographs and posed for pictures.

“I am extremely enthusiastic about this opportunity to serve as a youth ambassador,” said Kim. “As I recently said to the young people at The First Tee of Dallas, I wish a program like The First Tee existed when I first picked up a club. I enjoy helping the kids develop confidence on the golf course and showing them how golf can impact other parts of their lives the way it has for me. I am really proud to take on this leadership role and be a part of the program on a national scale.”

“It is gratifying to see a young player like Anthony Kim set an example and choose to give back to golf through The First Tee,” said Tim Finchem, PGA TOUR commissioner. “The PGA TOUR is proud to be a Founding Partner of The First Tee. Over the last few years, many PGA TOUR players have been involved with The First Tee, and we are pleased that a player of the caliber of Anthony Kim has decided to help launch this new initiative.”

Following the announcement, Kim joined Barrow and Don Padgett, executive director of the Bridgestone Invitational, on the first tee of Firestone Country Club’s South Course, where Kim fielded questions from a group of young people from The First Tee Chapters located in Akron, Canton and Cleveland. Padgett also recognized winners from The First Tee essay contest.

Source: PGA Tour

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