2014 SeoulSisters Awards (4 of 7): Most Fashionable, Best Shot

Most Fashionable

And the Winner is: Soo Jin Yang

Soo Jin Yang won the KLPGA’s Best Dresser award in 2013, and has been known as one of the most stylish and daring fashionistas on tour since she turned pro in 2009. But this year, Yang took it to another level, becoming a fashion designer and actually having several of her designs produced by her clothing sponsor, Pearly Gates. Choosing her clothes from existing designs already made her one of the big fashion names, but actually designing them, too? Yeah, she’s the Most Fashionable Player of 2014. Check out some of her designs, and Soo Jin at work on creating them!

Soo Jin at work on a new design

More design work

Some of Soo Jin’s designs!

Other Nominees: Ha Neul Kim

Always Ha Neul Kim. Count on her to come up with interesting clothes that look fabulous.

Ha Neul at a charity event late in the year.

Ha Neul out of golf uniform

At the KLPGA Championship

She lost the KDB, but looked great doing it

A new look for her at the year’s third Major. The Scottish type look carried over for several rounds

More plaid at the Hite Cup

Hite Cup

At the year’s last Major

For a fashion layout.

The Hana Bank

So Yeon Ryu

So Yeon Ryu is probably the Koreans’ best dresser on the LPGA tour. Here are some of her interesting looks this year!

So Yeon Ryu in Mexico

Meeting the press in Malaysia

An interesting skirt at the Toledo event

From last summer

October

Special mention: We love it that Inbee Park expanded her looks this year and went with a few unusual choices. Keep it up, they look great!

Inbee at the KLPGA’s fourth Major

Shot(s) of the Year

And the Winner Is: Danielle Kang makes aces to win cars in two straight events

Danielle with one of her two cars

It’s a little bit of a cheat to name TWO shots as shots of the year, but what Danielle Kang did this year was so rare, so amazing, that it got far more attention than the LPGA usually gets. She deserves to win this award for that achievement!

At the Blue Bay LPGA event in China in October, Danielle made an ace on the 17^th hole of the first round on a 155 yard hole. She won a Buick LaCrosse.

The following week in Taiwan at the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, Danielle did it again! Once again, it was at the 17^th hole on a 158 yard hole (almost the exact same length as the previous week’s hole), but this time it was in the second round. Her prize was an Audi A6 T2.0.

Danielle had three aces in 2014, tying the all time LPGA record for most in a season, but she did not win a car for the third one.

Other Nominees: Hyo Joo Kim third shot, 17^th hole, Evian, to save tournament

Hyo Joo Kim is draped in the Korean flag after winning the Evian Championship

Hyo Joo had just botched her second shot on the 17^th hole on Sunday. She was one shot down to Karrie Webb and HAD to make par. She was 60 yards from the hole, and the green was severely sloped such that, if she hit her ball just a tad too far left, a par save would be almost impossible. She proceeded to stripe her pitch to a foot for a virtual tap-in. If she had even slightly mishit that shot, she doesn’t win the Major.

Inbee Park final hole, LPGA Championship

Inbee had lurked behind Brittany Lincicome most of the back nine on Sunday. She made a birdie on the 17^th hole to close the gap to one, but after missing the green on the 18^th, her chip still left her about fifteen feet from the hole. However, she drilled the ultra-clutch par save, which enabled her to get into a playoff with Lincicome when the American missed her own par save moments later.

In Gee Chun holeout, 10^th hole, final round, Chosun Ilbo Posco Championship

In Gee Chun tips her cap during the final round of the Posco

This shot was named the KLPGA Shot of the Year at the KLPGA Awards Show in December. Chun had trailed Yoon Kyung Heo by around three shots the entire front nine. On the 10^th hole, she hit her approach to the edge of the green, then watched as it rolled right into the hole for an eagle. She made birdie on the next hole, and just like that was tied with Heo for the lead. She would go on to win the event.

Most Dramatic Hole

And the Winner Is: Mirim Lee, 17^th hole, Sunday, Reignwood Clasic

Mirim Lee with her second LPGA trophy of 2014

Mirim Lee had two amazing wins in 2014. In the first one, she beat the world’s #2 golfer, Inbee Park, in a playoff. At the second one, she duked it out with the world’s #1 golfer, Stacy Lewis.

Lee seemed poised to put Lewis away when she reached the par 3 17^th hole on Sunday. But she hit a weak tee shot and watched in horror as it flew, seemingly too short to clear the water fronting the green. Somehow she did reach dry land, but her ball sat perched on a rock, a dicey spot from which to hit a chip. Due to the shape of the rock, Lee had to chip away from the flag to have any chance of getting the ball on the green. She did manage that tricky shot, but left herself with a 30 foot par save. Amazingly, moments later, she drained that unbelievable putt to preserve her lead! She would go on to claim the win moments later, the second of her impressive rookie campaign.

Other Nominees: Portland Classic 18^th hole:

IK Kim reached this hole tied for the lead with Austin Ernst, but her approach rolled all the way off the back of the green. She was left with a tricky chip; if she hit it short, par would be tough, but if she hit it long, she might end up in the water. Inky instead hit a great shot, made the par, and got into a playoff.

A few minutes later, So Yeon Ryu, also tied for the lead, reached the hole. But she hit her approach into the water from a fairway bunker, ending her chances for the win.

In the playoff, Inky again missed the green, this time off to the right. She was not able to get her chip as close and missed her par putt, losing the tournament to Austin Ernst. It was nonetheless Kim’s best finish of the year.

18^th hole, KEB Hana Bank:

In Gee Chun celebrates with Kyu Jung Baek after Baek won the Hana Bank

Lincicome made the par save to post a number. In Gee Chun reached the hole tied with her but could not make the birdie to move into the lead. Inbee Park got there later and needed a birdie to tie for the lead and get into a playoff, but she missed. THEN, Kyu Jung Baek had a birdie putt to win outright but missed it. She was severely bummed.

In the playoff on the same hole, Lincicome hit her approach close, but Chun hit hers into the water. Baek then made a great swing to get her approach even inside of Lincicome. Lincicome missed her putt, Baek made hers, and the win (and LPGA card) was hers!

Round of the Year

And the Winner Is: Hyo Joo Kim, 61, first round, Evian Championship

Hyo Joo Kim en route to shooting a 61 at the Evian

Hands down, this was the clear-cut winner for round of the year. Hyo Joo Kim had played at the Evian before, in 2012, but it wasn’t a Major then and the course was fairly different. So her first round at the 2014 edition was also her first EVER round in an official LPGA Major. She delivered, shooting a flawless 10 under par 61, the lowest score shot at any Major, by any male or women, in history. That’s right, in the 100+ year history of Major golf, no one had ever accomplished what Kim did that first day. That’s some serious brilliance!

Other Nominees: So Yeon Ryu, first round, Canadian Pacific Women’s Open

So Yeon Ryu during round one of the Canadian Women’s Open

So Yeon Ryu started this year’s Canadian Women’s Open by shooting a 9 under par 63, a course record, to establish a one shot lead over friend Na Yeon Choi. They had both eaten dinner together the night before, and both were determined to get off to a great start to feed off the good vibes following their teaming at the International Crown the previous month. In the end, three of the teammates from that event wound up 1-2-3 on the leaderboard: Ryu, Choi and Inbee Park.

Inbee Park, final round 61, Manulife Financial LPGA Classic

A couple of months earlier and just down the road from where they played the Canadian Women’s Open, Inbee Park produced one of the best rounds of the year to win the Manulife Financial LPGA. It had been 11 months since Park’s most recent LPGA win, and she had just lost her #1 ranking the week before. So she was plenty motivated, and responded by shooting a final round 10 under par 61 to achieve a three shot win over Cristie Kerr. It matched the course record. For Park, putting was the key: she had struggled with her putting all season, but on that day in Waterloo, Ontario, she couldn’t miss.