Pak Se-ri became the first Korean golfer to earn a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame when she won the Michelob Ultra Open last Sunday.
Pak, 26, came from four shots back to win her first LPGA tournament this year with a 9-under 275 at the Kingsmill River course in Virginia. The win, which was her 22nd career victory, earned her the final and 27th point necessary to qualify for the Hall of Fame. If Pak, who is in her seventh year on the tour, plays for another three years, she will meet the 10-year hall membership requirement.
The Korea Herald has selected Pak as the person of the week for her astonishing achievement, which is the pinnacle of the sport and has set the bar extremely high for the other Korean golfers on the tour.
“One of my dreams came true,” said Pak after winning the Michelob Ultra Open, the tenth come-from-behind victory of her career. “My biggest goal was trying to join the Hall of Fame and I worked so hard for the past seven years. May 9th is the best of my life.”
The criteria for joining the LPGA Hall of Fame is so strict that it has only 22 members. A player must meet the 10-year-career requirement and accumulate a total of 27 points.
Sunday’s win was even sweeter because she won on Mother’s Day, as her mother cheered her on in the gallery. She also won the ShopRite Classic on Father’s Day in 1999 with her father in attendance.
After earning $330,000 prize for her victory, Pak rose to No. 3 on the money list this season with a total of $477,886.
Pak says that her next goal is the Career Grand Slam, which requires winning all designated major titles.
Pak, who started playing golf at 14, gave credit to her father for reaching the Hall of Fame.
She surprised the golf world by winning two major titles in 1998 in her first year on tour at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open. Her consecutive wins delighted countless Koreans who were mired in the 1997 financial crisis hitting the country.
In 2002, she won the McDonald’s LPGA Championship to become the youngest LPGA player to ever win four majors. She also became the first Asian player to win the Vare Trophy for the season’s lowest scoring average in 2003.
SE RI Pak fittingly became the first South Korean to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame yesterday with a 22nd career victory in the Michelob ULTRAOpen at Kingsmill Resort in Virginia.
The 26-year-old, who revolutionised the game in her country when she claimed a couple of majors in a sensational rookie season on the American Tour, shot a final round 65. On nine under 275, she won the $300,000 prize by two shots from Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa and American Juli Inkster.
But while the world No 2 claimed her latest honour, 14-year-old Hawaiian Michelle Wie continue to prove that she could become the greatest female talent the game has ever produced.
Wie had a final day 72 and tied for 12th on even par. She led the tournament statistics for driving distance, averaging 293 yards, while the pick of the final day was a 185-yard 5-iron shot at the long 15th that finished tap-in range for an eagle. She will sit her first-year exams before beginning her preparations for her visit to Britain as a member of the US Curtis Cup team.
"I’m really looking forward to going to Europe," said the girl who is certain to attract a huge audience for the match against GB and Ireland at Formby on June 12-13.
Mhairi McKay, with a final day 72, was the leading Scot, tying for 42nd place, three ahead of Catriona Matthew and four ahead of Kathryn Marshall, who closed on 69.
• World No 1 Tiger Woods tumbled down the Wachovia Championship leaderboard after a three-over-par 75 dropped him five shots behind third-round pacesetter Arron Oberholser on Saturday. Woods, who had been two strokes clear of the field following his 66 on Friday, slid to joint 11th place on 210.
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