Golfweek

Note: This story appeared in the March 24, 2007 issue of Golfweek.

Se Ri Pak gets downright giddy when someone mentions the LPGA Hall of Fame. Sitting on a couch in the Sundance Bar and Grill at MetroWest Golf Club, her dark eyes widen and her face lights up simply talking about her life’s dream. Suddenly this nearly 30-year-old Korean icon is a kid again.

“I’m already nervous about that moment,” said a beaming Pak. “I don’t know what to say.”

Pak, 29, qualifies for the Hall of Fame as soon as she hits the 10-year mark on tour, which should come in June at the McDonald’s LPGA or the following week at the Wegmans, depending on her schedule. She earned enough points (27) for the shrine in 2004 with her victory at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Since then, it has simply been a waiting game.

There is one thing besides the Hall, however, that would send Pak’s year completely over the top: A victory at next week’s Kraft Nabisco Championship.

“The first major is my 2007 goal,” Pak said before the season started.

Pak joins Meg Mallon and Laura Davies as players whose only missing piece in the major championship puzzle is the Kraft Nabisco. Six players have completed the LPGA career grand slam: Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and, most recently, Annika Sorenstam.

Pak already owns 23 LPGA titles, including five major championships. Why hasn’t she won the Kraft?

“It’s pretty hard to win a golf tournament, let alone a major,” said her longtime swing coach Tom Creavy.

Fair enough. Pak has played in eight Kraft Nabisco Championships and posted six top-20 finishes, but only one top 10 (T-9 in 2002). In that time, Sorenstam and Webb have combined for five of those eight Kraft titles, and likely will be the primary roadblocks yet again for Pak.

Webb, the defending champion, never came down from her desert high last year. She jolted the field with a holed-out wedge for eagle on the 72nd hole and went on to win her second Nabisco title in a playoff.

“I think about it nearly every day,” Webb said, “the way in which I won that tournament and the feelings and sensations that I experienced in that last round.”

A revitalized Webb finished the year with five victories and challenged Lorena Ochoa for Player of the Year honors. Webb’s hot streak continued in 2007 in her native Australia, where she won back-to-back titles to start the year.

Webb, however, wasn’t the only big-name player to piece together a comeback in 2006. After spending much of ’05 tending to a variety of ailments, Pak gave her legions of Korean supporters something to cheer when she defeated Webb in a playoff at the McDonald’s LPGA. She cut 2.56 strokes off her scoring average last season and finished 13th on the money list. Creavy said that on a scale of 1 to 10, he gave Pak’s swing a 9 at the end of last year.

Consequently, most of their offseason practice regimen at MetroWest was spent on the short game. If there’s any weakness in Pak’s game, it’s her chipping. Known for her impeccable work ethic, Pak’s analytic personality often leaves her lacking in creativity and feel around the greens.

Improvements last year included a decrease in three-putts from the 20-foot range and better course management. Because of her perfectionist approach, Pak’s preferred line of flight was straight. At the Ginn Open last April, Creavy convinced her to play a fade, hoping to block out the left side of the course. The move resulted in more confidence off the tee.

To give herself a better chance at being in top form for this year’s Kraft, Pak shook up her early-season schedule. She kicked off her season before March for the first time since 2001 by playing in the two Hawaii events. While she didn’t tear it up at Turtle Bay, Pak walked away smiling as she posed for pictures in front of the resort with countrywoman Birdie Kim. The next week at the Fields Open, she tied for 14th after an opening 67.

After skipping the MasterCard Classic in Mexico, Pak joined the rest of the top 40 from last year’s money list at this week’s Safeway International before she’ll head to Rancho Mirage, Calif., for the year’s first major.

Pak’s best chance at winning the Kraft came in ’01 when she admittedly “blew it.” Leading the tournament Saturday at 6 under par heading into the difficult home stretch at Mission Hills, Pak posted a double bogey followed by three consecutive bogeys to close her round. She then double bogeyed No. 1 Sunday and went on to tie for 11th.

“It’s amazing how momentum plays such a huge role,” Creavy said. “Now she knows how to stop the bleeding a little bit.”

Creavy calls it the “bounce-back factor,” and it’s something that’s spread throughout Pak’s life. She has a new sense of balance in her life thanks to a new boyfriend she met last fall. Not only can she bounce back faster mid-round, Pak also can let go of a bad tournament knowing the world isn’t going to end.

“How many people can make their own dreams really come true?” asked Pak, fully aware of the answer.

This is already a big year for this trailblazer. It could get even bigger.

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