MUMBAI, March 20: It was no surprise as Korea lifted the 20th Queen Sirikit Cup for the Amateur Ladies Asian Invitational Golf Team Championship, sponsored by Mahindra, Leela and Maxtouch, at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club course here today.Scoring an aggregate of 433 the Koreans emerged champions for the record seventh time. Debutantes Chinese Taipei finished runners-up, five strokes behind the leaders. The ever consistent New Zealand were third with 446.
It was a fine all-round performance by the Koreans to regain the title they had lost last year to the Japanese after winning it for three consecutive years since 1994.
As the Koreans were quite assured of the title after some sterling performances for the first two days, the focus had shifted to individual supremacy.
Overnight leader Kyung Sook Kim of the winning team with an aggregate of 145 looked very much in contention for the crown. She had set the course ablaze with a two-under par 69 yesterday.
But she looked out of sorts in the thirdround. A poor round of 74 today saw her being relegated to the fourth place. The star today, however, was Jeon Jang also of Korea. After dropping a shot on the first, the 17-year-old Jang picked up steadily. Birdies on the second followed by three consecutive birdies on the sixth, seventh and eighth holes saw her going three-under after first nine. On the back nine she played safe but dropped shots on the 14th and the 17th to go out with a card of one-under 70.
This saw Jang win the individual championships with a total of 216. ``We came with the intention of winning and I am happy we won it,'' said the Korean team captain Dong Wook Kim. ``Back home we practice on different courses regularly. I guess that helped us a lot in adapting with different conditions here.''
The Chinese Taipei have once again proved that they are a force to be reckoned with. Weiyun Jye (219) and Hu Hsiao Chuan (221) finished second and third respectively. It was a fantastic comeback by Jye who stood 11th yesterday. She had aone-under 70 today to clinch the runner-up ahead of Chuan who was seventh overnight. ``Jye played very badly on the first day. But fortunately she picked up very fast,'' said coach Sung Tim. ``I am not completely happy about it. Because I lost the first spot,'' said Jye. Jye is currently ranked No 1 in Korea.
It is only the second time in the history of Sirikit Cup that a team on debut has secured second spot. The Australians had earlier accomplished it in 1980.
A card of one-over was the best India had. Parnita Garewal tried to make up for her previous days' mistakes but it was not enough. Urvashi Sethi Sodhi went seven over while Vandana Agarwal had a round of 84.
Last year Indians had finished ninth with a total of 476. This year they had scores similar to the Japanese (452) but the defending champions were declared fourth with a better score after 36 holes of the 54 hole event.
Kimiko Yoshida, member of the last year's winning Japanese team also fired the day's best of 70 along with Jang and Jye.This saw Japan climb from ninth position to finish ahead of hosts India.
Later while talking to newspersons the Indian captain Nonita Lal Qureshi said that she was satisfied with the girls. ``I know they could have done better but at the end of it I am satisfied with the position,'' said Nonita. The focus now shifts to Bangkok which will be the venue for the 21st edition of the cup. Final positions
Team: 433: Korea (144, 143, 146), 438: Chinese Taipei (147, 147, 144), 446: New Zealand (149, 147, 151), 452: Japan (156, 152, 144), 452: India (156, 146, 150), 452: Australia (155, 146, 151), 455: Sri Lanka (150, 151, 154), 457: Malaysia (150, 156, 151), 459: Thailand (155, 148, 156), 500: Hong Kong (161, 171, 168).
Individual: 216: Jeong Jang (Kor -- 71, 75, 70); 219: Wei Yun Jye (Chi Tai -- 71, 72, 70); 221: Lu Hsiao Chuan (Chi Tai -- 72, 75, 74), Kyung Sook Kim (Kor -- 76, 69, 76); 222: Thuhashini Selvaratnam (SL -- 75, 72, 75), Brenda Ormsby (NZ -- 74, 72, 76).
Copyright © 1998 IndianExpress Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
