Pak Se-ri

Pak Se-ri or Se-ri Pak (Korean: 박세리, Korean pronunciation: [paːk seːɾi]; born 28 September 1977) is a South Korean former professional golfer, who played on the LPGA Tour from 1998 to 2016. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.

Pak Se-ri
Personal information
Born (1977-09-28) 28 September 1977
Daejeon, Korea
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Nationality South Korea
ResidenceOrlando, Florida, U.S.
Career
Turned professional1996
Retired2016
Former tour(s)LPGA of Korea Tour (joined 1996)
LPGA Tour (joined 1998)
Professional wins39
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour25
LPGA of Korea Tour14
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 5)
ANA InspirationT4: 2014
Women's PGA C'shipWon: 1998, 2002, 2006
U.S. Women's OpenWon: 1998
du Maurier ClassicT7: 2000
Women's British OpenWon: 2001
Evian ChampionshipT4: 2013
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2007 (member page)
LPGA Rookie of the Year1998
GWAA Female
Player of the Year		1998
LPGA Vare Trophy2003
LPGA Heather Farr Award2006
Associated Press
Female Athlete of the Year		1998
Bob Jones Award2020
Pak Se-ri
Hangul
Revised RomanizationBak Seri
McCune–ReischauerPak Seri
In this Korean name, the family name is Pak.

Career overview

Born in Daejeon, she attended Yuseong Nursery School in that city and then Keumseong Girls’ High School in Gongju City, Chungnam Province where she was the school's best amateur golfer. She then moved to Seoul for training.[1] Pak turned professional in 1996, a year before she moved to the United States as a 20-year-old.[2] In 1996 and 1997, she won six tournaments on the LPGA of Korea Tour. Pak joined the LPGA Tour full-time for the year 1998, crowning her rookie season with victories in two majors: the McDonald's LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open. At just 20 years of age, she became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Women's Open. About.com writes that "Pak won a 20-hole playoff for that victory, making that tournament - at 92 holes in length - the longest tournament ever in women's professional golf."[3] Four days after the U.S. Women's Open win, Pak shot a then-LPGA record 61 during the second round of the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic.[4] She won the Rolex Rookie of the Year award for that season.

Since 1998, she has gone on to win 21 more events on the Tour, including three more majors. In June 2007, at age 29, she qualified for the World Golf Hall of Fame, surpassing Karrie Webb as the youngest living entrant ever.[5] (Tom Morris, Jr., who died in 1875 at the age of 24, had been elected in 1975.)

Pak has also competed in a professional men's event, at the 2003 SBS Super Tournament on the Korean Tour. The Korean Tour was a feeder tour for the Asian Tour and did not offer world ranking points. She finished 10th in the event, according to the World Golf Hall of Fame "becoming the first woman to make the cut in a professional men's tournament since Babe Zaharias did so in 1945."[6]

At the 2005 McDonald's LPGA Championship, she missed the cut for the first time in 29 majors. In an interview quoted on the PGA Tour's website, she commented that she was searching for a balance between her golf and her personal life: "I've been a little bit unhappy about everything, my game, big game. I'm not really enjoying it at all, and I'm not doing anything with my ability. I know what I needed, a much better balance. I'm always putting a lot of pressure on myself". Eventually, she was found to have a finger injury. In 2006, she rediscovered her best form by winning the McDonald's LPGA Championship for the third time to claim her fifth major title overall.

In 2007, she won the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic for the fifth time, making her the fourth player in LPGA history to win the same tournament five or more times (Annika Sörenstam accomplished this feat at two tournaments).[7]

Perhaps the greatest tribute to her career to date came in a column by Golf World writer Eric Adelson in 2008, who called Pak "a pioneer... who changed the face of golf even more than Tiger Woods."[8] When Pak came to the LPGA in 1998, she was the only Korean player. Ten years later, she was one of 45 Koreans on tour,[9] and the single largest source of revenue for the LPGA was the sale of TV rights in South Korea.[10]

Pak was the only South Korean on the LPGA Tour in the year 1998. Her spectacular triumph at the 1998 U.S. Women's Open encouraged many Korean women to take up golf as a sport. She is regarded as a leader of the game in her home country and has also inspired the new generations of LPGA players Na Yeon Choi and Inbee Park who have followed her footsteps at the LPGA level.[11] A statue of her now stands outside Gongju's stadium.[12] This statue commemorates her signature moment: a successful shot from a water hazard to remain tied for first place in the 1998 U.S. Women's Open; this allowed her to force a sudden death playoff which she then won with "a tremendous birdie putt from nearly 20 feet on the second hole." [13] This was a victory named by the Korea Times as the 3rd most acclaimed moment in 60 years of South Korean sports history.[14] Her shot was shown as the basis for the first episode of the Korean TV drama "Birdie Buddy." [15]

On 17 March 2016, Pak announced that she would retire following the 2016 season.[16] She retired the following 13 October, after completing the first round of her country's lone LPGA-sanctioned event, the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.[17]

Professional wins (39)

LPGA Tour (25)
Legend
Major championships (5)
Other LPGA Tour (20)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 17 May 1998 McDonald's LPGA Championship 65-68-72-68=273 −11 3 strokes Donna Andrews
Lisa Hackney
2 5 Jul 1998 U.S. Women's Open 69-70-75-76=290 +6 Playoff Jenny Chuasiriporn (a)
3 12 Jul 1998 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic 71-61-63-66=261 −23 9 strokes Lisa Hackney
4 26 Jul 1998 Giant Eagle LPGA Classic 65-69-67=201 −15 1 stroke Dottie Pepper
5 20 Jun 1999 ShopRite LPGA Classic 63-69-66=198 −15 2 strokes Trish Johnson
6 4 Jul 1999 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic 68-69-68-71=276 −8 Playoff Carin Koch
Kelli Kuehne
Mardi Lunn
Sherri Steinhauer
Karrie Webb
7 12 Sep 1999 Samsung World Championship of Women's Golf 67-71-70-72=280 −8 1 stroke Karrie Webb
8 14 Nov 1999 PageNet Championship 66-66-74-70=276 −12 Playoff Laura Davies
Karrie Webb
9 16 Jan 2001 YourLife Vitamins LPGA Classic 71-68-64=203 −13 4 strokes Penny Hammel
Carin Koch
10 22 Apr 2001 Longs Drugs Challenge 66-71-71=208 −8 2 strokes Laura Diaz
11 8 Jul 2001 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic 70-62-69-68=269 −15 2 strokes Maria Hjorth
12 5 Aug 2001 Weetabix Women's British Open 71-70-70-66=277 −11 2 strokes Mi Hyun Kim
13 30 Sep 2001 AFLAC Champions 70-67-64-71=272 −16 5 strokes Lorie Kane
14 7 Apr 2002 The Office Depot Championship 68-68-73=209 −7 1 stroke Annika Sörenstam
15 9 Jun 2002 McDonald's LPGA Championship 71-70-68-70=279 −5 3 strokes Beth Daniel
16 25 Aug 2002 First Union Betsy King Classic 70-68-66-63=267 −21 3 strokes Angela Stanford
17 13 Oct 2002 Mobile LPGA Tournament of Champions 65-70-67-66=268 −20 4 strokes Carin Koch
Catriona Matthew
18 27 Oct 2002 Sports Today CJ Nine Bridges Classic 65-76-72=213 −3 6 strokes Carin Koch
19 23 Mar 2003 Safeway PING 65-68-68-64=265 −23 1 stroke Grace Park
20 27 Apr 2003 Chick-fil-A Charity Championship 71-65-64=200 −16 Playoff Shani Waugh
21 18 Aug 2003 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic 69-67-64-71=271 −13 2 strokes Marisa Baena
Han Hee-won
22 9 May 2004 Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill 70-71-69-65=275 −9 2 strokes Juli Inkster
Lorena Ochoa
23 11 Jun 2006 McDonald's LPGA Championship 71-69-71-69=280 −8 Playoff Karrie Webb
24 15 Jul 2007 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic 63-68-69-67=267 −17 3 strokes Morgan Pressel
25 16 May 2010 Bell Micro LPGA Classic 69-66-68=203 −13 Playoff Brittany Lincicome
Suzann Pettersen

LPGA Tour playoff record (6–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1998 U.S. Women's Open Jenny Chuasiriporn (a) Won with birdie on second extra hole
after 18-hole playoff (Chuasiriporn:73, Pak:73)
2 1999 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic Carin Koch
Kelli Kuehne
Mardi Lunn
Sherri Steinhauer
Karrie Webb		 Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1999 PageNet Championship Laura Davies
Karrie Webb		 Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2003 Chick-fil-A Charity Championship Shani Waugh Won with par on fourth extra hole
5 2006 McDonald's LPGA Championship Karrie Webb Won with birdie on first extra hole
6 2010 Bell Micro LPGA Classic Brittany Lincicome
Suzann Pettersen		 Won with birdie on third extra hole
Pettersen eliminated with par on second hole

LPGA of Korea Tour (14)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 26 Sep 1992 Lyle and Scott Women's Open (as an amateur) 71-72=143 −1 Playoff Won Jae-sook
2 1 May 1993 Tomboy Women's Open (as an amateur) 76-71-72=219 +3 Playoff Kim Soon-mi
3 29 Apr 1995 Tomboy Women's Open (as an amateur) 76-71-68=215 −1 3 strokes Kim Soon-mi
Lee O-soon
4 17 Jun 1995 Midopa Women's Open (as an amateur) 72-68-68=209 −7 4 strokes Lee O-soon
5 24 Jun 1995 Christian Dior Women's Open (as an amateur) 65-67-67=200 −16 10 strokes Lee O-soon
6 8 Oct 1995 Seoul Women's Open (as an amateur) 69-73-72=214 −2 2 strokes Ku Ok-hee
7 24 Aug 1996 Dongil Renown Ladies Classic 65-74-70=209 −7 1 strokes Song Chae-eun
8 1 Sep 1996 FILA Women's Open 70-67-69=206 −10 4 strokes Bu Hyeong-soon
9 8 Sep 1996 Diadora Cup SBS Professional Golf Challenge 77-73-77-74=301 +13 1 stroke Song Chae-eun
10 6 Oct 1996 Hanwha Cup Seoul Women's Open 68-71-71=210 −6 Playoff Chung Il-mi
11 28 Sep 1997 Cheil Industries Rose Women's Open 68-69-73=210 −6 Playoff Chung Il-mi
12 5 Oct 1997 Hanwha Cup Seoul Women's Open 71-68-68=207 −9 9 strokes Park Hyun-soon
Mi-Hyun Kim
13 18 May 2003 MBC-Xcanvas Women's Open 69-65-70=204 −12 3 strokes Ji Eun-hee (amateur)
14 23 Sep 2012 KDB Daewoo Securities Classic 69-66-65=200 −16 3 strokes Heo Yoon-kyung

Major championships

Wins (5)
Pak at the 2009 LPGA Championship in Bulle Rock, Maryland
YearChampionshipWinning scoreTo parMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-up
1998McDonald's LPGA Championship65-68-72-68=273−113 strokes Donna Andrews, Lisa Hackney
1998U.S. Women's Open69-70-75-76=290+6Playoff 1 Jenny Chuasiriporn (a)
2001Weetabix Women's British Open71-70-70-66=277−112 strokes Mi Hyun Kim
2002McDonald's LPGA Championship71-70-68-70=279−53 strokes Beth Daniel
2006McDonald's LPGA Championship71-69-71-69=280−8Playoff 2 Karrie Webb

1 Defeated Chuasiriporn on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, after an 18-hole playoff round
2 Defeated Webb on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament1997199819992000
ANA Inspiration T13 T15
Women's PGA Championship 1 T6 T3
U.S. Women's Open T21 1 T14 T15
du Maurier Classic T41 T13 T7
Tournament200120022003200420052006200720082009
ANA Inspiration T11 T9 T15 T16 T27 T45 T10 T10 T40
Women's PGA Championship T39 1 T46 T17 CUT 1 T33 T46 T65
U.S. Women's Open 2 5 50 T32 T45 T3 T4 CUT CUT
Women's British Open ^ 1 T11 2 T21 WD WD T5 CUT T20
Tournament2010201120122013201420152016
ANA Inspiration T15 T10 T8 T19 T4 CUT
Women's PGA Championship CUT T34 T19 T28 WD WD
U.S. Women's Open CUT T45 T9 CUT T38 CUT
Women's British Open T14 T47 WD
The Evian Championship ^^ T4 T47

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001
^^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied for place

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
ANA Inspiration00016131716
Women's PGA Championship3014571814
U.S. Women's Open1115691914
Women's British Open110337128
The Evian Championship00011122
du Maurier Classic00001233
Totals5221422397157
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 29 (1997 U.S. Open – 2005 Kraft Nabisco)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 5 (2001 U.S. Open – 2002 U.S. Open)

LPGA Tour career summary
YearTournaments
played		Cuts
made		Wins2nd3rdTop 10sBest
finish		Earnings
($)		Money
list rank		Scoring
average		Scoring
rank
1998 27 26 4 0 0 8 1 872,170 2 71.41 13
1999 27 24 4 0 0 10 1 956,926 3 70.77 8
2000 23 22 0 0 2 11 3 550,376 12 72.49 10
2001 21 20 5 5 2 12 1 1,623,009 2 69.69 2
2002 24 24 5 1 2 17 1 1,722,281 2 69.85 2
2003 26 25 3 6 0 20 1 1,611,928 2 70.03 1
2004 19 17 1 1 0 5 1 682,669 11 71.34 27
2005 12 9 0 0 0 0 T27 62,628 102 74.21 116
2006 23 21 1 0 2 8 1 884,961 13 71.65 23
2007 23 20 1 0 1 8 1 820,129 16 71.74 14
2008 17 10 0 1 0 3 2 366,143 52 72.59 66
2009 24 20 0 1 0 2 2 447,683 30 71.98 37
2010 15 9 1 0 0 3 1 368,839 32 72.45 49
2011 20 17 0 0 0 4 4 415,447 27 71.97 26
2012 12 9 0 0 0 5 4 430,338 33 71.18 16
2013 18 14 0 0 0 3 T4 440,162 34 71.88 41
2014 16 10 0 0 0 3 T4 271,888 59 71.75 45
2015 8 3 0 0 0 1 T10 36,083 122 74.25 n/a
2016 10 3 0 0 0 0 T27 20,053 150 69.54 95
  • official through 2016 season[18]

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

YearWorld
ranking		Source
200612[19]
200710[20]
200831[21]
200943[22]
201032[23]
201136[24]
201226[25]
201330[26]
201459[27]
2015228[28]
2016469[29]

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References
  1. http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2005080233038
  2. TalkAsia, CNN, 2007
  3. About.com - Se Ri Pak
  4. "Pak Sets LPGA Record With 61 U.S. Open Champion Makes 10 Birdies". Seattle Post-Intelliencer. 11 July 1998. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  5. "Pak qualifies for LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame". LPGA. 7 June 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
  6. World Golf Hall of Fame Profile: Se Ri Pak
  7. "All-Time Records" (PDF). LPGA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  8. Adelson, Eric (5 September 2008). "Bivens' missteps starting to add up". ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  9. "Information: 2008 International Players" (PDF). LPGA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  10. Sirak, Ron (5 September 2008). "LPGA Tour should have seen the fallout coming from English policy". ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  11. Jack, Steve. "Se Ri Pak". writengine.com. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  12. http://kr.worldmapz.com/photo/26200_en.htm
  13. http://www.mylpga.com/forum/f34/se-ri-pak-inspires-korean-show-birdy-buddy-7319.html
  14. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2010/10/136_75338.html
  15. http://www.dramafever.com/drama/765/1/Birdie_Buddy/
  16. Mell, Randall (17 March 2016). "Se Ri Pak plans to retire after 2016 season". Golf Channel.
  17. Herrington, Ryan (13 October 2016). "Se Ri Pak Has An Emotional On-Course Sendoff As She Plays The Last Round Of Her LPGA Career". Golf Digest.
  18. "Se Ri Pak stats". LPGA. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  19. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2006.
  20. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2007.
  21. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2008.
  22. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2009.
  23. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2010.
  24. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2011.
  25. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2012.
  26. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2013.
  27. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2014.
  28. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2015.
  29. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2016.
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