(June 16, 2005) — She burst into prominence on the LPGA Tour seemingly as soon as she teed up a ball for the first time.
Se Ri Pak didnt just join the tour back in 1998, she showed the world how golf was played. Even if the world didnt know where she came from.
"I won two majors when nobody even knew what my country was," said Pak, a 27-year-old native of Daejeon, South Korea.
She played 27 events that season and won four times, including the two majors. She was in the top 10 six other times and finished second on the money list with $872,170 in earnings.
"I was having a lot of success when I was 20 years old," she says.
She had amazing success the next four years, too, winning 17 times, earning more than $1.5 million three times and finishing No. 2 on the money list three more times.
When she won the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill last summer, she reached the required number of points for induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame. The only requisite left to meet is years on tour (10).
Now, seven years since Pak blazed a trail from her homeland by joining the tour, the Korean influence is overwhelming. There are 26 Koreans on the LPGA Tour and virtually all are having an influence.
Except Pak. Even since the win at Kingsmill, her game has inexplicably gone south.
She has played in nine events this season and hasnt finished higher than a tie for 27th. She has missed the cut three times.
In last weeks McDonalds LPGA Championship, the second of the tours four majors, Pak missed the cut. The week before she came in 77th, dead last, at the ShopRite Classic.
"Its not easy for me to understand myself," Pak said on Wednesday as she headed to the Locust Hill Country Club driving range to continue to work on alterations to her swing.
"Im sometimes saying, Huh, what happened to me?"
She may have an answer: Success came too fast and too easily — and she never really stopped to enjoy it.
"I think I need to learn more about my life," she said. "I never cared about myself before. I never looked around me to see what was there. I need to see bigger, see wider.
"Life before was always golf, golf, golf. Im a human being. Nobody can be perfect and I need to find the right balance between golf and more resting time."
The Wegmans Rochester LPGA is the 15th tour event of the season. Pak has skipped five. She knows there are flaws in the swing she had back in 1998 and is working to correct them.
"Golf is a very sensitive game, a very funny game," she said. "I know what I have to do, I know what I have to work on."
The fix will take time, though. She doesnt expect to knock Annika Sorenstam off the top of the LPGA hill this year.
"I want to try to prepare for next year," she said. "I still love to play on tour. I had a great last seven years and I want to keep playing."
She also wants to play without driving herself crazy. Thats why shes trying to stay composed and calm every week.
"I dont think I have much good game going on at all but I try to keep myself happy on the golf course," Pak said. "No matter if I play good or bad, I feel pretty comfortable."
KEVINO@DemocratandChronicle.com
