Dispelling Any Doubts

Kim came up dry on a crucial late-match break, and never shot again.

The final 16 was sprinkled with a bit of the old and a bit of the new. "The Establishment" was well represented, with Corr and Kelly Fisher joined, of course, by Allison Fisher, Jeanette Lee, Thornfeldt and Gerda Hofstatter. A cluster of players in line to take Webb's place at the top of the titleless heap joined the fracas, led by Chen, Kim Shaw, Sarah Rousey and Tiffany Nelson-Crain. Kim, Pan, Cha and Ranola represented the decidedly Asian-heavy "new guard," while one-time wunderkind Holly Sholes proved that you can come home again. Sholes, in fact, battled to an 8-7 lead over Kelly Fisher in the round of 16, only to wobble and falter in the final two games, allowing Fisher to escape, 9-8.

But for all the talk about the Fishers and Corr versus the youngsters, the most intriguing play in San Diego came from a pair of resurgent former champions - Lee and Hofstatter. Lee, winless on the Classic Tour since 2004, and Hofstatter, whose last title came at the Billiard Congress of America Open 9-Ball Championship in 2000, showed flashes of the play that had earned more than 25 titles between them.

Lee, still the most recognizable face on the Classic Tour, blasted her way unbeaten to the semifinals with convincing wins over Tracie Hines, 9-5; Tamara Rakemakers, 9-3; Chen, 9-5; Shaw, 9-7; and Rousey, 9-2.

Though sidetracked by Rousey in her third-round match, 9-4, Hofstatter, owner of the very first WPBA Classic Tour title (1993 San Francisco Classic), rebounded with impressive wins over Allison Fisher, 9-8, and Pan, 9-5, to earn her spot in the semifinals.

Awaiting Lee and Hofstatter, however, were Webb and Kim. After being stunned in the second round by Sholes, 9-7, Kim took an extended tour through the losers bracket, knocking off Melissa Little, 9-6, Denise Belanger, 9-6, and Vivian Villarreal, 9-2, to earn a spot in the final 16. There she drew unbeaten Ranola, who put up little resistance in a 9-3 beating. Kim then ousted Kelly Fisher, 9-6.

Trying to at least equal her second-place finish in the 2008 San Diego Classic, Hoffstatter battled Kim to a 5-5 score. But a runout by Kim in the 11th game, followed by Hofstatter's scratch on the ensuing break, ended that dream.

Lee, meanwhile, was subjected to Webb's best match of the tournament - perhaps her best performance ever in a TV match. The suddenly confident Webb jumped balls and pocketed combinations with almost effortless ease, and ran one rack after the next in a thorough, 7-1, pasting.

Webb's "fight every chance you get" mantra surely aided her in the title match against Kim. Coming up dry twice in the alternating break format, and forced to kick hopelessly at a pair of safeties, Webb quickly found herself in a 4-1 hole.

"To me, 4-1 is just a score," rationalized Webb. "Just do the best you can with the shot that's in front of you."

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