Pak Se-ri facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pak Se-ri
Pak at the 2009 LPGA Championship
Personal information
Born	(1977-09-28) 28 September 1977 (age 47) Yusong, Taejon, South Korea
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Nationality	South Korea
Residence	Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Career
Turned professional	1996
Former tour(s)	LPGA of Korea Tour (joined 1996) LPGA Tour (joined 1998)
Professional wins	39
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	25
LPGA of Korea Tour	14
Best results in LPGA Major Championships (Wins: 5)
Kraft Nabisco C'ship	T4: 2014
LPGA Championship	Won: 1998, 2002, 2006
U.S. Women's Open	Won: 1998
du Maurier Classic	T7: 2000
Women's British Open	Won: 2001
The Evian Championship	T4: 2013
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2007
LPGA Rookie of the Year	1998
GWAA Female Player of the Year	1998
LPGA Vare Trophy	2003
LPGA Heather Farr Award	2006
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year	1998
Bob Jones Award	2020

Pak Se-ri (born 28 September 1977) is a famous former professional golfer from South Korea. She played on the LPGA Tour from 1998 to 2016. The LPGA Tour is the highest level of women's professional golf. Pak Se-ri was so good that she was added to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007. This is a special place for the best golfers in history.

Becoming a Golf Star

Pak Se-ri was born in Daejeon, South Korea. She went to school there and was the best amateur golfer at her high school. Later, she moved to Seoul for more training.

In 1996, Pak became a professional golfer. Before moving to the U.S. at age 20, she won six tournaments in South Korea. In 1998, she joined the LPGA Tour. This was her first full year on the tour. She won two major tournaments that year: the McDonald's LPGA Championship and the U.S. Women's Open.

Winning the U.S. Women's Open at just 20 years old made her the youngest winner ever. She won that tournament after a long 20-hole playoff! This made it the longest tournament in women's professional golf history. After this win, she shot a record score of 61 in another tournament. She also won the Rookie of the Year award for being the best new player.

Amazing Achievements

After 1998, Pak Se-ri won 21 more events on the LPGA Tour. This included three more major championships. In June 2007, when she was 29, she became part of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She was the youngest living person to join at that time.

Pak even played in a professional men's golf event in 2003. She finished 10th, which was a big deal! She was the first woman to make the "cut" (meaning she played well enough to continue in the tournament) in a men's professional event since Babe Zaharias in 1945.

In 2005, she had a tough time and even missed the cut at a major for the first time. She later found out she had a finger injury. But in 2006, she came back strong! She won the McDonald's LPGA Championship for the third time. This was her fifth major title overall.

In 2007, she won the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic for the fifth time. This made her only the fourth player in LPGA history to win the same tournament five or more times.

A True Pioneer

Many people see Pak Se-ri as a pioneer in golf. A writer for Golf World magazine even said she changed golf more than Tiger Woods. When Pak joined the LPGA in 1998, she was the only South Korean player. Ten years later, there were 45 South Koreans on the tour! Also, selling TV rights in South Korea became the biggest source of money for the LPGA.

Her amazing win at the 1998 U.S. Women's Open inspired many South Korean women to start playing golf. She is seen as a leader in her home country. She also inspired new LPGA stars like Na Yeon Choi and Inbee Park.

There is even a statue of Pak Se-ri outside a stadium in Gongju, South Korea. It shows a famous moment from her 1998 U.S. Women's Open win. She hit a successful shot from a water hazard (a tricky part of the course with water) to stay tied for first place. She then won the playoff with a great putt. This victory was called the third most celebrated moment in 60 years of South Korean sports history! Her shot was even shown in the first episode of a South Korean TV show called Birdie Buddy.

On March 17, 2016, Pak announced she would retire after the 2016 season. She played her last professional golf tournament on October 13, 2016, in South Korea.

Professional Wins (39)

Pak Se-ri won a total of 39 professional golf tournaments. This includes 25 wins on the LPGA Tour and 14 wins on the LPGA of Korea Tour.

LPGA Tour Major Wins (5)

Pak at the 2009 LPGA Championship in Bulle Rock, Maryland

Pak Se-ri won five major championships during her career on the LPGA Tour. These are some of the most important tournaments in golf.

Year	Championship	Winning score	To par	Margin of 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	Weetabix 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 She beat Jenny Chuasiriporn in a sudden-death playoff after an 18-hole playoff round.
² She beat Karrie Webb in a sudden-death playoff.

Team Appearances

Pak Se-ri also represented her country and continent in team golf events.

Amateur

• Espirito Santo Trophy (representing South Korea): 1994

Professional

• Lexus Cup (representing Asia team): 2006 (winners), 2007 (winners), 2008

Filmography

After retiring from golf, Pak Se-ri has appeared on various television and web shows.

Television Shows

Web Shows

Awards and Nominations

Pak Se-ri has received awards for her work both in golf and in television.

See also

In Spanish: Pak Se-ri para niños

• List of female golfers
• List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
• List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins