Season Preview 2003

Getting off to a good start.
The start of the season is pivotal for Se Ri's chances. In her first three years, she got off to a very slow start, not really making noise until early summer. Meanwhile, Karrie Webb and/or Annika Sorenstam won several times, building insurmountable leads over Our Girl. In 2001, finally, Se Ri had a great start to the season, winning the first event of the year and playing extremely well in two of the next three. But she also got walloped with a cold that sidelined her for an event and wiped out nearly a month of preparation. As well, Annika had one of her patented bursts of unbelievable play, and Se Ri couldn't beat her. Even when she shot a 25 under par, her best ever score, 12 shots ahead of the third place player, she still lost out to Annika, who shot 27 under. In 2002, however, her start was very slow. Although she put together a lot of top tens during that period, and even pulled out a win at the Office Depot, you could tell she was not really at the top of her game, and she did not truly contend with regularity until mid to late summer. As a result, Annika got a lead she would never relinquish. Once the summer came around, Se Ri won three times, put together several more near misses, and generally played as well as Annika. But it was too little too late.

Se Ri wins most of her trophies later in the year

So what does Se Ri need to do to be prepared for the season? What went wrong in 2002, and can she avoid that this year?

There were several factors that led, in my opinion, to Se Ri's difficulties at the start of 2002. In 2002, she had problems with her coach and fired him. She tried most of the off season to find a new coach, but was not able to, and rehired her old coach after the season had started. It took several more months before he got her swing back in order. She had sponsor troubles, and eventually, after protracted negotiations, left Samsung. Her ex-caddie Jeff Cable sued her for breach of contract, another hassle. Her father was very ill, often hospitalized. She also broke up with her boyfriend of four years. As if that weren't enough, right after the season started she got a bad wrist injury that hampered her for the first month of the season.

Se Ri and her coach Tom Creavy

Of all of these factors, the most important was the friction with her swing coach. I've said it many times: Se Ri Pak is a player that depends on working closely with a coach to keep her swing in top condition. Every time she has gone a while without coaching, her game has suffered. Her worst slump, in 2000, occurred while she had no coach the entire year. Well, indications this year (fingers crossed) are that her relationship with her coach is going quite well. So hopefully that means her swing will be A-OK when she arrives at the first tee in 2003.

As well, her sponsor situation is now great. She signed a multi-year, extremely lucrative contract with Korean conglomerate CJ at the end of last year. She will now have the financial security she lacked most of 2002, while she struggled to find a sponsor to replace Samsung. The lawsuit with her caddie was settled out of court, so that worry is off her plate. And her father seems to be doing better now. He has even been seen following his daughter at the CJ Nine Bridges Classic, something he was not healthy enough to do for quite a while.

Se Ri and her father