Pak Se-ri or Se-ri Pak (, ; born 28 September 1977) is a South Korean former professional golfer. She played on the LPGA Tour from 1998 to 2016. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.
Early life and amateur career In 1977, Pak was born in Taejon, South Korea. She attended in that city.
Later, Pak attended in Kongju City, Chungnam Province where she was the school's best amateur golfer. She then moved to Seoul for training.
Professional career In 1996, Pak turned professional. The following year before she moved to the U.S. as a 20-year-old.TalkAsia, CNN, 2007 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." 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. 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. (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."
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).
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." When Pak came to the LPGA in 1998, she was the only South Korean player. Ten years later, she was one of 45 South Koreans on tour, and the single largest source of revenue for the LPGA was the sale of TV rights in South Korea.
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 South 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. A statue of her now stands outside Gongju's stadium. 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." This was a victory named by the Korea Times as the 3rd most acclaimed moment in 60 years of South Korean sports history. Her shot was shown as the basis for the first episode of the South Korean TV drama Birdie Buddy.
On 17 March 2016, Pak announced that she would retire following the 2016 season. She retired the following 13 October, after completing the first round of South Korea's lone LPGA-sanctioned event, the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.
Professional wins (39) LPGA Tour wins (25) Legend Major championships (5) Other LPGA Tour (20) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up117 May 1998McDonald's LPGA Championship65-68-72-68=273−113 strokes Donna Andrews Lisa Hackney25 Jul 1998U.S. Women's Open69-70-75-76=290+6Playoff Jenny Chuasiriporn (a)312 Jul 1998Jamie Farr Kroger Classic71-61-63-66=261−239 strokes Lisa Hackney426 Jul 1998Giant Eagle LPGA Classic65-69-67=201−151 stroke Dottie Pepper520 Jun 1999ShopRite LPGA Classic63-69-66=198−152 strokes Trish Johnson64 Jul 1999Jamie Farr Kroger Classic68-69-68-71=276−8Playoff Carin Koch Kelli Kuehne Mardi Lunn Sherri Steinhauer Karrie Webb712 Sep 1999Samsung World Championship of Women's Golf67-71-70-72=280−81 stroke Karrie Webb814 Nov 1999PageNet Championship66-66-74-70=276−12Playoff Laura Davies Karrie Webb916 Jan 2001YourLife Vitamins LPGA Classic71-68-64=203−134 strokes Penny Hammel Carin Koch1022 Apr 2001Longs Drugs Challenge66-71-71=208−82 strokes Laura Diaz118 Jul 2001Jamie Farr Kroger Classic70-62-69-68=269−152 strokes Maria Hjorth125 Aug 2001Women's British Open'71-70-70-66=277−112 strokes Mi Hyun Kim1330 Sep 2001AFLAC Champions70-67-64-71=272−165 strokes Lorie Kane147 Apr 2002The Office Depot Championship68-68-73=209−71 stroke Annika Sörenstam159 Jun 2002McDonald's LPGA Championship71-70-68-70=279−53 strokes Beth Daniel1625 Aug 2002First Union Betsy King Classic70-68-66-63=267−213 strokes Angela Stanford1713 Oct 2002Mobile LPGA Tournament of Champions65-70-67-66=268−204 strokes Carin Koch Catriona Matthew1827 Oct 2002Sports Today CJ Nine Bridges Classic65-76-72=213−36 strokes Carin Koch1923 Mar 2003Safeway PING65-68-68-64=265−231 stroke Grace Park2027 Apr 2003Chick-fil-A Charity Championship71-65-64=200−16Playoff Shani Waugh2118 Aug 2003Jamie Farr Kroger Classic69-67-64-71=271−132 strokes Marisa Baena Han Hee-won229 May 2004Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill70-71-69-65=275−92 strokes Juli Inkster Lorena Ochoa2311 Jun 2006McDonald's LPGA Championship71-69-71-69=280−8Playoff Karrie Webb2415 Jul 2007Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic63-68-69-67=267−173 strokes Morgan Pressel2516 May 2010Bell Micro LPGA Classic69-66-68=203−13Playoff Brittany Lincicome Suzann Pettersen Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.
LPGA Tour playoff record (6–0) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11998U.S. Women's Open Jenny Chuasiriporn (a)Won with birdie on second extra holeafter 18-hole playoff (Chuasiriporn:73, Pak:73)21999Jamie Farr Kroger Classic Carin Koch Kelli Kuehne Mardi Lunn Sherri Steinhauer Karrie WebbWon with birdie on first extra hole31999PageNet Championship Laura Davies Karrie WebbWon with birdie on first extra hole42003Chick-fil-A Charity Championship Shani WaughWon with par on fourth extra hole52006McDonald's LPGA Championship Karrie WebbWon with birdie on first extra hole62010Bell Micro LPGA Classic Brittany Lincicome Suzann PettersenWon with birdie on third extra holePettersen eliminated by par on second hole
LPGA of Korea Tour wins (14) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up126 Sep 1992Lyle and Scott Women's Open (as an amateur)71-72=143−1Playoff Won Jae-sook21 May 1993Tomboy Women's Open (as an amateur)76-71-72=219+3Playoff Kim Soon-mi329 Apr 1995Tomboy Women's Open (as an amateur)76-71-68=215−13 strokes Kim Soon-mi Lee O-soon417 Jun 1995Midopa Women's Open (as an amateur)72-68-68=209−74 strokes Lee O-soon524 Jun 1995Christian Dior Women's Open (as an amateur)65-67-67=200−1610 strokes Lee O-soon68 Oct 1995Seoul Women's Open (as an amateur)69-73-72=214−22 strokes Ku Ok-hee724 Aug 1996Dongil Renown Ladies Classic65-74-70=209−71 strokes Song Chae-eun81 Sep 1996FILA Women's Open70-67-69=206−104 strokes Bu Hyeong-soon98 Sep 1996Diadora Cup SBS Professional Golf Challenge77-73-77-74=301+131 stroke Song Chae-eun106 Oct 1996Hanwha Cup Seoul Women's Open68-71-71=210−6Playoff Chung Il-mi1128 Sep 1997Cheil Industries Rose Women's Open68-69-73=210−6Playoff Chung Il-mi125 Oct 1997Hanwha Cup Seoul Women's Open71-68-68=207−99 strokes Park Hyun-soon Mi-Hyun Kim1318 May 2003MBC-Xcanvas Women's Open69-65-70=204−123 strokes Ji Eun-hee (amateur)1423 Sep 2012KDB Daewoo Securities Classic69-66-65=200−163 strokes Heo Yoon-kyung
Major championships Wins (5)
YearChampionshipWinning scoreTo par Marginof victory Runner(s)-up 1998 McDonald's LPGA Championship 65-68-72-68=273 −11 3 strokes Donna Andrews, Lisa Hackney 1998 U.S. Women's Open 69-70-75-76=290 +6 Playoff 1 Jenny Chuasiriporn (a) 2001 Women's British Open 71-70-70-66=277 −11 2 strokes Mi Hyun Kim 2002 McDonald's LPGA Championship 71-70-68-70=279 −5 3 strokes Beth Daniel 2006 McDonald's LPGA Championship 71-69-71-69=280 −8 Playoff 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. Tournament 1997 1998 1999 2000ANA InspirationT13T15Women's PGA Championship1T7T3U.S. Women's OpenT211T14T15du Maurier ClassicT41T13T7 Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009201020112012ANA InspirationT11T9T15T16T27T45T10T10T40T15T10T8Women's PGA ChampionshipT391T46T17CUT1T33T46T65CUTT34T19U.S. Women's Open2550T32T45T3T4CUTCUTCUTT45T9Women's British Open ^1T112T21WDWDT5CUTT20T14 Tournament 2013 2014 2015 2016ANA InspirationT19T4CUTWomen's PGA ChampionshipT28WDWDU.S. Women's OpenCUTT38CUTWomen's British OpenT47WDThe Evian Championship ^^T4T47 ^ 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
CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew "T" = tied for place
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeANA Inspiration 0 0 0 1 6 13 17 16Women's PGA Championship 3 0 1 4 5 7 18 14U.S. Women's Open 1 1 1 5 6 9 19 14Women's British Open 1 1 0 3 3 7 12 8The Evian Championship 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2du Maurier Classic 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 3Totals 5 2 2 14 22 39 71 57 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 Year Tournaments played Cuts made Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Bestfinish Earnings($) Moneylist rank Scoring average Scoringrank1998272640081872,170271.411319992724400101956,926370.77820002322002113550,3761272.4910200121205521211,623,009269.692200224245121711,722,281269.852200326253602011,611,928270.0312004191711051682,6691171.342720051290000T2762,62810274.211162006232110281 884,9611371.65232007232010181 820,1291671.74142008171001032 366,1435272.59662009242001022 447,6833071.9837201015910031 368,8393272.45492011201700044 415,4472771.9726201212900054430,3383371.1816201318140003T4440,1623471.8841201416100003T4271,8885971.75452015830001T1036,08312274.25n/a20161030000T2720,05315069.5495 official through 2016 season
World ranking Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
Year Worldranking Source 2006 12 2007 10 2008 31 2009 43 2010 32 2011 36 2012 26 2013 30 2014 59 2015 228 2016 469
Team appearances Amateur Espirito Santo Trophy (representing South Korea): 1994
Professional Lexus Cup (representing Asia team): 2006 (winners), 2007 (winners), 2008
Filmography
Television shows