US Women’s Open – Se Ri Pak’s Victory Lap

Se Ri Pak is playing her final US Women’s Open at CordeValle.  It’s a sentimental journey, even a victory lap of sorts for an international sports figure who inspired a generation of Korean girls and captured the respect and admiration of her peers in the golfing world.

Pak’s 1998 US Women’s Open victory at Blackwolf run was electrifying and inspiring and her impact on the women’s game has been enduring.

Let the women who are playing with her this week at CordeValle explain the power of Pak’s impact on their lives and on the game.

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Pak started playing golf at 14, late in life by today’s standards.  Track was her first sport, but she took to golf and captured 30 titles during her amateur career.  She turned pro in 1996, at the age of 19, and put 6 KLPGA titles on her resume before she moved to the United States and began playing on the LPGA Tour in 1998.

That first year Se Ri was the only Korean playing on the Tour.  It must have been a culturally lonely time for the 20-year old – but the isolation was temporary and short-lived.  A decade later, 2008, there were 45 Koreans playing on the Tour and the single greatest source of revenue for the LPGA was the sale of television rights in the Republic of Korea.  The door that Se Ri Pak had cracked open was swinging wide.

Se Ri Pak had a stunning rookie year on the Tour.  She won two majors – the LPGA Championship and the US Women’s Open – as well as two additional Tour events.  Only the second player in LPGA history to win two major championships in her rookie year – Juli Inkster was the first – Pak closed out 1998 with the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award.

Over the span of her career Se Ri Pak has earned 25 Tour titles, recorded 123 top-10 finishes, been awarded the Vare Trophy (2003) and the Heather Farr Player Award (2005), a singular honor given annually to the player “who, through her hard work, dedication  and love of the game, has demonstrated determination, perseverance, and spirit in fulfilling her goals as a player.”

Pak has also had her share of bumps in the road.  In 1999, following that frenzied rookie year, she was hospitalized for exhaustion.  In 2005 she completely lost her game.  While some athletes might have walked away from the game at that point Pak fought her way back, claiming a 3rd LPGA Championship title in 2006 when she defeated the intrepid Karrie Webb.

Se Ri Pak’s final win came in 2010 at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in a playoff against Suzann Pettersen and Brittany Lincicome.

Playing at CordeValle with two of the women she has inspired and encouraged – So Yeon Ryu and Na Yeon Choi – Se Ri Pak has more than earned this victory lap. She transformed the face and the style of women’s golf.

More US Women’s Open Coverage

• Amateurs in the US Women’s Open Field
• The “Big Four” in the US Women’s Open Field
• The Challenge of CordeValle – What to Look for From the Top Players
• 1st Round Marquee Groups
• 5 Fantasy Sleepers

Cover Photo via YouTube