By Dr. Tony Parker, World Golf Hall of Fame Historian
The youngest member of the World Golf Hall of Fame has announced that she will retire at the end of the year from the LPGA Tour. Se Ri Pak has enjoyed a world class career in women’s golf with 25 LPGA victories, including five Major Championships.
Pak, who took up golf at the age of 14, won 30 amateur tournaments before joining the professional ranks in South Korea in 1996. She won six of 14 tournaments in South Korea before joining the LPGA in 1998 at age 20.
In her rookie season on the LPGA, Pak won two Major Championships: the McDonald’s LPGA Championship (now known as the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) and the U. S. Women’s Open Championship, launching her career onto the world stage. She went on to win two more tournaments and was named the Rolex Rookie of the Year that season.
In June 2007, at age 29, Se Ri Pak had won 24 LPGA victories, taking two additional LPGA Championship titles along with the 2001 Women’s British Open Championship. She was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame that year, surpassing Karrie Webb as the youngest living Inductee ever. Pak won her 25th victory in 2010 at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
She will forever be known as a trailblazer who led the way for other South Korean golfers to succeed on the LPGA Tour. Golf World writer Eric Adelson called Pak “a pioneer… who changed the face of golf even more than Tiger Woods.”
In 1998, Pak was the only South Korean player on the LPGA Tour, but after her early Major success, she inspired a generation of young South Korean women to take up golf. Today, six of the top-15 players on the LPGA Tour are South Korean and there are 157 South Korean players in the world’s top 500.
Inbee Park, winner of seven Major Championships, and Na Yeon Choi, winner of the 2012 U. S. Women’s Open, have followed Se Ri Pak’s footsteps and have been called “Se Ri kids.”
Pak has asserted that she wants to open a school to train athletes to take a holistic view towards a balance in life. Young South Korean golfers want to talk to Se Ri about her experiences, but she wants to help them in other ways. She knows that she is a role model, but wants to be an even better role model.
“I want to show them ‘this is the right way; this is the wrong way; this is the easy way; this is the hard way’”Pak said.
She regrets that she didn’t have more fun, instead concentrating so hard on winning. Pak now wants to share that with young players.
The World Golf Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding career of Member Se Ri Pak and wishes her great success in her next venture. She will be missed on the LPGA Tour, but she will continue to inspire young golfers for generations to come.
