EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Grace-ful under fire

Click here for more on this story

MIAMI -- In 1983 the Chicago White Sox made "winning ugly" acceptable. On Sunday, at The Office Depot, Grace Park -- who was three years old when Carlton Fisk, Greg Luzinski and the rest of this rag-tag, makeshift crew won the AL West -- followed in their footsteps. But beating the LPGA's No. 1 player, Karrie Webb, with an arsenal of snap hooks, fat shots and miraculous saves might have proved that Park is pretty close to being one of the tour's top guns.

THE SHAG BAG For the second straight week, Karrie Webb had to settle for second place. But after nearly being beaned by her agent, Jay Burton, during the pro-am Friday, she was happy to be standing. On the 17th hole, Burton's 7-wood shot came closer to hitting his No. 1 client than the green. The low screamer to the right never actually endangered Webb, but it allowed her to take a few potshots at Burton. "Jay was just getting back at me for all of those times we've had a few disagreements," Webb said with a smile. "He was just firing away." ... Webb was limping on Sunday and had her right ankle heavily wrapped. "I don't know how I hurt it, but it hurt just to walk yesterday, and today it hurts to follow through on my golf swing." said Webb, who thinks rest is the right course of action. ... "I've beaten her many times," Emilee Klein said Saturday when a reporter asked if Webb was the favorite heading into the final round. Klein did defeat Webb on two occasions in 1996, but since then Webb has won 20 times to Klein's zero. On Sunday, Klein never really threatened, shooting a 75 to finish tied for ninth. ... Jennifer Rosales recorded her first top 10, with a tie for third. The 1998 NCAA champion had a chance to finish second but missed a five-foot par putt on the final hole. "I was so nervous," Rosales said. "I have been nervous before, but nothing like that." ... Laura Diaz, who tied for the lead after the first round, made two eagles on the week. Both came using a 9-irons on par-4s. "After the second one went into the hole my caddie Matt [Plagman] said that maybe we should put 9 on all of my clubs." Diaz said. ... Michelle Estill made another hole-in-one, but this time she will not be driving away with a new set of wheels. Last week in Naples, Fla., Estill won a new 2001 Subaru Forester when she aced the 17th hole during the first round. On Sunday, she used an 8-iron on the 15th hole of the Blue Monster. Because the hole only measured 143 yards, there was no car as a reward. ... After shooting 82-78 in the first two rounds, Sally Dee showed up on Saturday with a pink strip dyed in her hair. The color change did the trick as she improved 10 shots on the weekend.

But playing the famed Blue Monster at Doral Golf Resort & Spa, the 21-year-old couldn't find a fairway, a bathroom, a clubface, a concession stand or a green. During her press conference Sunday, she laughed as she tried to count the number of straight shots that she hit during the final round. She extended first one, then two fingers but never came close to using the other hand.

But golf isn't a sport in which you need your A game to win. Just ask Tiger Woods, who has gotten himself into hot water by saying he won with a C effort -- though that is better than most players' A's. On Sunday, Park easily would have flunked if a grade was attached to her performance.

The first hole would be a telltale sign of things to come for the former U.S. Women's Amateur champion. Park snapped her opening drive so far off line that she was almost on the adjacent course that was used for the first two rounds, which included amateurs. "We were so far left we couldn't see the hole," said Bob Kendall, her caddie.

Park would proceed to hit a great second shot, only to snap her third -- you guessed it -- left of the green. This alarming trend made Park sound like an Army drill sergeant as she described her round. "First hole was left, second hole left, third hole left," Park said. "You could say I had the ball working to the left pretty much of the day."

After leaving Arizona State in 1999 following her sophomore year and tearing up the Futures Tour with five victories (which earned her exempt status on the LPGA), Park emerged on the scene in 2000 as the top rookie candidate. The expectations placed on her were high, but those she put on herself were even higher. Park wanted not just Rookie of the Year honors, but Player of the Year accolades, too. She expected to be the best, and that was part of her downfall.

For the first four months, she struggled with the fact that she couldn't break into the top 10. When things wouldn't go her way, she would panic, stress out and even get mad, only making matters worse.

A season later this isn't the case. Maturity may not be the proper explanation for her progress since she is just one year older, but on Sunday Park displayed poise that belied her age, despite having to scramble on every hole. "I think I aged about 10 years today," said Park. "It's comforting to make pars, although I didn't have any time to relax. I had to try so hard on every shot. But knowing I can get up and down like that, it's comforting."

The aging process may have accelerated because of Park's play on the final hole, the monstrous par-4 that was made famous by Greg Norman's many collapses there. Holding a one-shot lead over Webb, Park stared down the left side and saw nothing but trouble. "I was kind of scared on the tee box because I had been hooking everything, and there's water on the left," Park said of the closing hole. "That's not good."

But after spraying shots all over the course and getting up and down from everywhere but the bathroom (since she couldn't find them, either), Park split the middle of the fairway, then hit a 5-iron from 162 yards to 18 feet, where she easily two-putted for the win. "Those were her two best shots of the day," Webb said afterward.

Park's two clutch swings are typical of those made by a champion. Now, after knocking off her second Hall of Famer in seven months -- Juli Inkster was the other, last June in South Carolina -- Park appears poised for greatness. "I'm not really comfortable with my game, but I'm comfortable with myself," Park said after collecting the $123,750 winner's share. "That's very important. My game will come around. I won, so it can't be that bad. It's me. I know I can do it."

Even though winning ugly worked this time, don't look for it as a new theme. When asked if she might adopt the White Sox slogan, she shook her head no and replied, "This was a be-yoot-iful win."

Tom Hanson, a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated's Golf Plus section, is a longtime caddie on the LPGA Tour. Click here to send him a question or comment.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.

 

Related information
Stories
Solid Park escapes Webb for Office Depot title Last week's Inside the LPGA: 2001 Fearless Forecast
Multimedia
Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.

Copyright © 2001 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.