Se Ri Pak

Se Ri Pak (born September 28, 1977 in Daejeon, South Korea) is a professional golfer. This article gives her Romanized name in Western order (given names first); her family name is Pak (박).

Career outline

Pak turned professional in 1996, and 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. Unsurprisingly, she won the Rolex Rookie of the Year award for that season.

Related Topics:
LPGA - LPGA Championship - U.S. Women's Open

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Since then she has gone on to win over 20 events on the tour, including two more majors. Her success means she has effectively qualified for the World Golf Hall of Fame, but cannot be inducted until she's been a tour member for 10 years (which should occur in 2007). Assuming she enters the Hall in 2007, she will surpass Karrie Webb as the youngest living entrant ever (the 19th century great Tom Morris, Jr., elected in 1975, died at age 24).

Related Topics:
World Golf Hall of Fame - 2007 - Karrie Webb - Tom Morris, Jr. - 1975

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Pak's strong playing record and her willingness to learn and use English has made her popular in the sport, although her achievements have been overshadowed by the presence of Annika Sörenstam.

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Like Sörenstam, Pak has also competed in a professional men's golf event, at the 2003 SBS Super Tournament on the Korean Tour. Unlike Sörenstam, however, she did make the cut and eventually finished 10th.

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As of June 2005 Pak is in something of a slump. At the 2005 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. I'm not really enjoying it at all, and I'm not doing anything with my life. I know what I needed, a much better balance. I'm always putting a lot of pressure on myself."

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