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Mi Hyun Kim triumphs at Rail Classic

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Posted: Monday September 06, 1999 05:50 PM

As much as it bugged her, Scotland's Janice Moodie came up just short of Mi Hyun Kim. AP

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- It was bad enough that Janice Moodie had hit her tee shot into the sand on the 13th hole of the State Farm Rail Classic.

But the events that played out over the next four holes Monday paled in comparison.

After swishing an insect off her ball, which was lying in a fairway bunker, LPGA tour officials handed Moodie a two-shot penalty. Suddenly, instead of being one shot off the pace of eventual winner Mi Hyun Kim, Moodie was three shots down with only five holes to play.

The ruling, however, was seen by a LPGA official watching on television at home. It set off a chain reaction of telephone calls and two-way radio messages to officials on the course, eventually resulting in the penalty being rescinded just as Moodie walked onto the 18th tee, one shot behind.

"Yeah, it was a distraction," Moodie said afterward. "I'm annoyed. Why wouldn't I be?"

Though Moodie came back and had a chance to tie Kim on the final hole, her birdie attempt fell short. Kim, a rookie from Korea, walked away from the Rail Golf Club $116,250 richer.

Kim's victory was her first as a professional and put her in a commanding position to win 1999 LPGA Rookie of the Year honors with just five tour events left.

"She [Kim] is really good at everything," said defending Rail champ Pearl Sinn, a fellow Korean who finished in a two-way tie with Moodie for second place with an 11-under par 205 over the three-day event.

Moodie said the rules infraction was handled poorly, but LPGA tour officials said it was a judgment call.

"Sometimes you get oddball situations," said tour official Angus Mackenzie. "It was just one of those freaky things that happen."

"It has been handled poorly in my opinion," said Moodie. "I'm definitely for Christmas getting a rule book and reading it."

Mackenzie said the United States Golf Association would likely rewrite the rule for moving an insect off a ball in a sand trap.

Meanwhile, finishing in a tie for third at minus-10 for the tournament were long-hitting rookie Marisa Baena of Colombia and tour veteran Lori West of Denver.

Eva Dahllof and Emilee Klein came in at 9-under par.

First round leader Karen Stupples, a rookie from England, fell off the pace and was one of two finishing at 8-under par.

Kim is returning home next week to play in a tournament. Speaking through an interpreter, she said she was glad to go home as an LPGA champ.

Kim got off to a quick start, gaining a stroke on Moodie on the second hole when she sank a 20-foot putt for birdie. She moved into a tie at minus-12 on the fourth hole with another birdie.

A bogey on the tough par-3 16th hole left her just one shot up on Moodie, but she was able to par the final two holes for the victory.

 

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