2003 Wachovia: Another Lost Weekend

Se Ri Pak fans have a lot of fond memories of Se Ri playing some truly impressive golf during her still short career. But few rounds can compare to the one she put together on Sunday at the First Union Betsy King Classic in 2002. She has rarely managed a more stellar or impressive performance than that day.

Coming into the day, she was three shots out of the lead. As if that weren't bad enough, one of the two players ahead of her that day was Karrie Webb. Se Ri was certainly going to have her hands full if she were to win. She knew she was going to have to play lights out golf.

Boy, did she. But at first it looked as though it was not going to be her day. She bogeyed 3 and 4, and she knew any chance to win would fall by the wayside if she did not get back on track posthaste. That she did with an eagle chip-in on the lone par 5 on the front, hole # 5. Coming into the back nine, she looked to be in good shape to make her move. What followed were nine holes I consider to be among the best she ever perpetrated. It started with a clutch par save on 10, the kind of shot players make when they win championships. On the par 3 12th she hit a gorgeous shot, and made another birdie on 13. But despite all that greatness, she was still being hounded, but not by Webb. No, the player who was trying to hunt Se Ri down was little known American Angela Stanford, who suddenly had discovered her inner Tiger. As well as Se Ri was playing, victory was still not a given.

Se Ri Pak was dominant in winning the
2002 First Union Betsy King Classic

Se Ri had a lot to smile about after a Sunday 63
at last year's Betsy King Classic

Hole 14 had played tough all week. Se Ri left herself a long birdie putt, and a ten footer for par after that. Once again, she reached into the well and made a clutch par save. On the treacherous par 3 15th, she left her iron some thirty feet from the hole. The commentators remarked that it was in three putt territory. Se Ri proceeded to hit a jaw dropping 30 foot snaking putt perfectly into the hole for a birdie.

By this point Stanford must have been feeling a little bloodied. So Se Ri turned it up another notch, and another, and another, in a dazzling display of unforgettable golf. On the par 5 16th, she had an easy birdie after a sweet pitch, then followed that up with an approach on 17 so close to the hole it was downright ridiculous. And even that was only a prelude to what was coming. By now the tournament was hers, and on the par 5 18th, she left herself a 205 yard approach in the middle of the fairway. She hit a 7 wood that was as close to perfect as can be imagined, and came but a hair away from sinking it on the fly for a 61. Alas, she missed her three foot eagle try, a ticklish downhill putt, but made the birdie for a 9 under 63, a tournament record, and her 16th career win. A 63 with *two bogeys*, an eagle and 9 birdies. Phenomenal. A win to remember, to be sure.

How could anything she did in 2003 compare to that brilliance? Well, she might not be able to match her 2002 excellence, but she could still get the trophy, and after having won the previous week in Toledo, that's exactly what she was aiming to do. But it would not be a cakewalk. Though Annika and Hee-Won Han were among those not in the field, Seoul Sister Grace, whom Se Ri had recently passed for the #2 spot on the money list, was. As were Karrie Webb, Angela Stanford, and many other tough opponents. Still, the way Se Ri was playing, it was no surprise she was the heavy favorite in Kutztown.

A few things had changed as well. For one, the tournament was now called the Wachovia LPGA Classic Hosted by Betsy King, a reflection of First Union's recent corporate changes. For another, they had lengthened the course and grown the rough longer this year, to make it more tricky. But if anything, that should have made it all the more inviting to Seoul Sister Se Ri.

Se Ri was ready to go in 2003