Peanut Profile

Margaret MinKyung Kahng

Born: 1973 .09.25, Seoul Korea

Height/Weight: 5'3"/unknown

Years golfing: 8

Best round: 105 @ Richmond Hill GC

Strengths: consistency off the tee

Struggles: staying committed through her putts

Best finish on the JMT (as of 07/29): solo 2nd @ Watson's Glen

Favourite colour: red

Favourite movie: My Name is Kim Sam Soon

Most important contribution to the JMT: My Name is Kim Bap Controversy

Interesting facts: Despite the glut of Korean superstars, Peanut's golf role-model is Lorena Ochoa. Says MK: "she's the epitome of grace under pressure & I love how her name rolls off your tongue" ; MK's goal for this year is "to reverse my reverse pivot & hit 105 again!!" and hopes to be remembered for having "the BEST kimbap on the Jackie Moon Tour!"

Points to Ponder I

In a mass e-mail sent out to all tour members on Monday, tour commish extolled this edict:

"In my Jackie excel file I wrote total score of majors plus 6 best scores. This has been unanimously changed to total score whether you make it or not (sorry Tom but you would've lost anyway). We have to be fair to those who come out every two weeks so it will be total score at the end."

In a follow-up communique he stated:
"Initially we said that we would take the points from the 4 majors plus 6 best other rounds to make up the total points. Since we have a total of 13 rounds, this means that you can miss 3 rounds or if you play all 13, you can count out your worst 3 rounds. Since some of our members are doing well (John Choi), they are purposely missing rounds knowing it will make no difference in their total score.

So I decided to change it so that we take points from all 13 rounds."

Tour members chimed in to record record numbers of message board postings on countless JMT websites. FTF reporters threw out these lines of ponderment:

1. Jackie's statements suggest that playing on the tour is some kind of chore. This writer has always preferred a round of golf to doing dishes or ironing. I would've ventured a guess that ALL tour members would choose to be on the course for each and every event, and when a member misses- it's only due to unavoidable circumstances... FTF reached John for comment on this point:

FTF: Did you purposely choose to skip Maples of Ballentrae because you were doing well in the standings?

John: Heck no. I love golf. I love being out there with all the guys (and Margy). There are very few things that would stand in the way of me playing week in and week out. The truth is i'm surprised i've been able to make it out to 5 events so far- after the 3rd or 4th round this year- every time out's been a bonus! Definitely not sitting out events because of points or standings- i'd choose to play in between events if i could.

2. Peter JD Park ruminates:

" Wow, Wow, wow, this is a huge change.
I don’t know if this is fair either…"

Peter's probably aware that the 4 major sports leagues in N.A. have board of governors meetings in the off-season to discuss possible rule changes. They do this because it would be unfair to change the rules in the middle of the season.

3. Jackie suggests that the rule change is a way to be fair to players who show up every 2 weeks. If a player is able to be at every single event- don't they benefit from having the luxury of dropping their 3 lowest scores? Players who miss events are forced to count gooseeggs and have the additional pressure to play well at every single event. In a follow-up posting FTF will analyze who stands to reap the benefits of this absurd rule change.

The question lingers whether or not this will have an impact on tour members views on the league. John states:

"Absolutely not. This is the bush league of all bush leagues and that's part of the charm. We knew that going in and wouldn't have it any other way. Jason set the standard in attitude- `don't get mad- work harder and get even'. I had no illusions of winning on the tour-but now i'm motivated- I'll win despite playing fewer events than anyone not named Tom or D Young! As for Jackie- he's shrewd. You just can't get mad at someone named Jackie Moon. If you're thinking about it- don't bother. It can't be done. Believe me- i've tried."

And so the league survives its latest potential scandal...

Bark or Bite?

"Young Koyama is predicting a dominating effort and will trump all competitors. He will overcome his and his fellow tour member's ridiculous handicaps and do his best Chez Reavie impersonation to pull out a victory against overwhelming odds. He will not use the N.K.B. excuse but will feed off his superior will and determination. Life is a cycle and it's time that Young Koyama returns to his winning form."

There was plenty of lightning and thunder. Menacing clouds loomed overhead, but 7 tour regulars showed up and Mother Nature was impressed enough to greenlight the 6th event of the season.

Elder K and the only caucasian JMT member caught fire early shooting 42 and 41 respectively on the front. John made the turn carding a 51 and thought he'd played his way out of any possible points. Jackie and Peanut each made the turn on pace to break par and looked to be in the running. Then the tables turned. A scoring error was discovered, a birdie had been recorded as a bogey and John's score went from 51 to 49. He then took advantage of the plethora of very short par 4's in the back to record a bunch of bogies despite being horrible off the tee. Petey was making his own little run and carded a 46 on the back 9. Roy, Jackie, Elder K and Peanut all faded and failed to break par. For Roy, fatigue was the major factor. Rumours throughout the gallery suggested Elder K was a victim of some razzing for his playing partners. Peanut was the victim of some alignment issues. Jackie, well- he was the victim of kimbapgate- playing his first tournie without the aid of Margy's laver-covered rice rolls. Petey's run was just a little too little, a little too late, and the rest is history.

The quote above is making its rounds through the media circus that's begun to follow the tour which is now being hailed as golf's version of the ABA. FTF is rooting for Young K to back up his words and return to the winner's circle where he belongs. Jackie was quoted earlier on in the season saying that Young K has the sweetest swing of any golfer he'd ever seen. Immediately following that comment, Young K went out and won his first tour event. Let's see if FTF's endorsement can have a simliar effect at Maples of Ballentrae. Many pundits claim that having too many Koreans is killing the LPGA. By the same token, the JMT needs a Japanese star to win again in the ABA of golf.

Taking Out the Garbage

After the hype inherently embedded in a major, has the Jackie Moon Tour fallen into a proverbial doldrum, the inevitable 20 minute lull, the valley that helps define the mountain??? After 5 tour sanctioned events, there's a considerable lack of volume in the sanitation department-leading bloggers around the globe covering the tour to ask: where's the trash?

In the early days of the league e-mails would pinball back and forth more often Picchu relieves himself on the hardwood, more frequently than Margy books rounds of golf... for now the trash talk seems limited to a vow by Peter John Daly Park to completely destroy the field at Glen Cedars... He reports playing some of his best golf of the year recently at a non-tour event in Weston On, and Jackie's been heard hyping up Petey's stronger wrists- FTF won't try to decifer the connection b/w him shifting his address and strengthing his wrists...

After the predictions debacle following Watson's Glen, FTF will refrain from going out on any limbs this week... the unusual venue at WG lead to the league's 2 highest handicappers walking away with the top two spots on the leaderboard- while the 2 lowest handicappers were shut out of points (despite Young K's relatively impressive score)...

Is this the week John Daly finally breaks through and improves his place in the overall points list?

Will Young K finally break par and return to the winner's circle?

Will D Young and Peanut be able to ride the wave of momentum from WG and continue their march up the overall points list?

The previous round marked the first time Elder K was denied any points-will he bounce back, or is this the beginning of the end for someone who once held the Tiger of the JMT mantle?

Between Jackie and Roy, who's the most due to become the next first-time winner on tour? Jackie's rounding into form while Roy's been fairly consistent week in week out... guess we'll find out in a few days...

Ever try bbq'ed crow?

First year tour player DongNyung Young Lee picked up his first career win at the season's 2nd major championship on Saturday. Stoked by being called out as only one of two players that had no chance of winning by From the Fringe, he went out and silenced all his critics.


In an interview Young explained what has turned his game around. "I've really tried to slow down my swing- it's really helped". Ironically, Young credits this change in his approach to Roy, who has yet to win on tour this year.


As for the rest of the pack, Young K. had the best overall round shooting a respectable 93 on what proved to be a tough course, despite lipping out putts on 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 16, and 17 . Peanut just missed shooting par and shot up the overall points race all the way up to 3rd with a second place finish, despite not only making kim-bap (thank God!), but also generating computerized indivualized, peronalized, specialized labels. The other highlight of the afternoon was that Tom completed the day without a DNP or WD beside his name. The biggest disappointment was the absence of tour fan-favourite John Daly. Elder K. watched his grip on first overall slip away and now sits 2nd overall, while Jackie leapfrogged over Roy to sit tied with Young at 4th overall.


Here are your final scores from the weekend:


1. Young Lee -2
2. Margaret Kahng +1
T3. Mike Shim +3
T3. John Choi +3
5. Roy Lee +7
Missed Cut
6. Jason Koyama +9
7. Derek Koyama +13
8. Tom Lee +29
DNP
Peter Park

Predictions

Who will win the inaugural Not Quite the British Open Championship?

The Usual Suspects:

There's one name that's synonymous with excellent golf on the tour- Koyama. Elder K and Young K have racked up a total 6 combined top 3 finishes already this season and are both in the top 3 in the overall scoring race. Look for Elder K to maintain his dominance of the tour this weekend. His showing during his practice round at Watson's Glen was a mere blip. Young K's season has been disappointing (by his standards) since he won the historical first tournament back in April. Look for Young K to break out of his mini slump at the Not Quite British.

Better Luck Next Time:

Unlike the other members of the tour Young and John have not played a round since their last tournaments. Young has practised and has steadily improved so look for him to challenge, but he's got no real chance of winning this weekend. For John, his reality will be what we all learned in Stats 101- regression towards the mean! what does that mean? the golf gods are mean- after exptreme scores in previous rounds (missed cut in week one, 1st place at St. Andrew's) John's due for a disaster. Look for him to finish T5 or worse this weekend.

The Dark Horses:

Moses is considered a wild card each time he goes out. Self-proclaimed as regularly shooting in the 80's we're not sure if he meant full length golf courses or if he meant the first nine holes at Dentonia. In any case he's capable of winning the whole thing if he can ever finish one round of golf.

Roy has the skill set to go low. He's faired reasonably well so far but has failed to get over the top. Look for Roy to finish 2nd or 3rd.

The real sleeper is Kangsy (or Kahngsy as she prefers to be called). Peanut had a red score her last time out. She's been playing 63 rounds of golf in between tournaments and there are rumours she will change her pregame routine favouring rest and putting practice over chopping veggies and rolling rice. This spells trouble for all other players on tour.

...and the winner is:

Jackie Moon!
Jackie's been patiently waiting in the wings having preplanned when he would win his 1st tournament. He knew if he won off the bat that all tour members would get wise that the entire league has been set up so he could hoist the Full Moon trophy at season's end. With nearly half the year's events goneby, he's ready to make his move. Jackie was part of the "scouting" crew who've alrerady played Watson's Glen. Jackie conveneniently arranged for arch-nemesis John Daly to miss this event to prevent any unneccessary distractions (no-one will be yelling Jamaican profanities in this week's final round). Jackie's gotten in a few rounds of golf since his disappointing round at the Granite Club. This is Jackie's week to finish at number 1 and steal, er... earn the 20 points up that were supposedly up for grabs.

Looking back...

This space will feature results shortly after they happen from here on in. For now let's take a look back at what's transpired so far on the course:


The Inaugural Invitational (event #1)
April 19, 2008
Rolling Hills Golf Club, Stouville ON


1. Jason Koyama +5
2. Mike Shim +10
T3. Derek Koyama +11
T3. Margaret Kahng +11
5. Roy Lee +13
Missed Cut
6. John Choi +21

DNP
Peter Park
Tom Lee
Young Lee

The Wind Rain and Cold Open (event #2)

May 10, 2008

The Highlands Golf Club, Bradford ON

1. Derek Koyama +3

T2. Jason Koyama +9

T2. Roy Lee +9
4. Mike Shim +13
5. Peter Park +14
Missed Cut
T6. Margaret Kahng +17
T6. Young Lee +17

DNP
John Choi
Tom Lee



The Kraft Nabisco Masters Championship (event #3, major#1)
May 24, 2008
St. Andrew's golf and Country Club, Aurora ON


1. John Choi -2
2. Derek Koyama +3
3. Peter Park +4
4. Roy Lee +6
T5. Margaret Kahng +8
T5. Young Lee +8
Missed Cut
7. Jason Koyama +17
8. Mike Shim +18
DNP
Tom Lee



The Short but Sweet Invitational (event#4)
June 14, 2008
The Granite Golf Club, Milton ON


1. John Choi -6
2. Derek Koyama -3
3. Margaret Kahng -1
4. Mike Shim +5
T5. Jason Koyama +7
T5. Roy Lee +7
Missed Cut
T7. Peter Lee +8
T7. Tom Lee +8
DNP
Young Lee


As of July 10, 2008 the JMGT Overall Scoring Race reads as follows:
1. Derek 35 pts
2. John 30 pts
3. Jason 16.5 pts
4. Roy 13.5 pts
5. Mike 13 pts
6. Peter 11 pts
7. Margaret 9 pts
8. Young 1 pt
9. Tom 0 pts


The most obvious trend is that the quality of play has improved drastically from tournament to tournament. In the first event the top 6 players combined to score 71 over par. The following event produced a combined total of the top six of +65. At the relatively difficult St. Andrew's, the top six players combined for a total of +27. And if that wasn't impressive enough, the Granite club produced a single digit total of a mere 9 over. The top three scored in red numbers. So as anticipation grows as the weekend approaches, tomorrow we'll take a look through the various blogs to see who's being picked to grab the extra points available!

Who's who?

On July 7, 2008 @ 5:12 a.m.(?), Young Koyama posed an interesting question:

Can Young Koyama be Anthony Kim?

A pretty brash suggestion considering what Anthony Kim had accomplished during the previous weekend. (http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3475470)

Anthony Kim? That would be me- common denominator: 2 wins baby!

Young Koyama, you are Adam Scott- young, dashing, all the good looks BUT only one win on the tour this year.
Elder Koyama is Tiger Woods leading the JMGT's version of the FedEx Points.
Roy is the JMGT's Kenny Perry.
Peter has dibs on John Daly.
Young is Charlie Wi.
Margaret reminds me of a bunch of LPGA'ers- but maybe we should go with MiHyun Kim cause she has the best nickname- Peanut!
We can Jackie, Mr. Finchem if we ever get called to the principal's office.

I'll let you know Tom's alter ego after Watson's Glen.

Speaking of Watson's Glen, http://www.watsonsglen.com/, this is the site of the JMGT's 5th tour event and 2nd major.
This links style course is likely to give members all they can handle. It was awarded the major tournament as tour brass sought a challenging course that would parallel the PGA's British Open. Hole 18 at WG was voted one of the "Top 18 holes in the GTA" by the Golfers Choice Awards from 2005 through 2008. Several tour members have been out to "survey" the course. Yup, we have a few Phil Mickelsons in the league, guess we'll find out Saturday if their preparations will pay off.

a tour's not a tour unless you can find it on the web...

Strip away the multi-million dollar purses, the billion dollar television deal, the subpar scores- replace Tiger Woods with Elder Koyama, John Daly with Peter Park, and Tim Finchem with Jackie Moon and what've you got? That's right- the most promising new sports league since the XFL- the JMGT.


One day in this space maybe we'll explore how and why the tour was born... the biographies of the tour's budding young superstars... maybe feature some interesting golf stats... but for now we'll simply launch the existence of the tour on the web by celebrating all that this league- still in its infancy- represents to all its fans: exciting final day races on public courses at twilight tee times; whining and crying about handicaps; the emergence of Adidas/Rebok as a real threat to Nike dominance; and most importantly- kim-bap.


In a recent correspondence by the Commissioner, the reverend Moon posed the following questions as the tour gears up for its 5th event and 2nd major of the still young season:


1) Will John win his second major in a bid for a grand slam?
2) Will Elder Koyama play better than the practice round last week?
3) Will Young Koyama or Margaret come through after all the practice (even in Niagara Falls) this past week?
4) Can Moses last more than 9 holes? Does he have a bar mistba to get to before or after the golf game?


Adding to that list of questions:
5) Will there be any movement on the season points leaderboard? And can Peter afford to miss a major??

6) Will Tom show up in a suit?

7) Will Margy bring kim-bap??


As always members are invited to post their predictions or any other thoughts they may have...