Slammed!

On Sunday, Se Ri played well early. She made a birdie on the second hole, bogey on three, and birdie on 4 to move to 5 under total. Creamer was in the process of imploding and would not be a factor. Pettersen made two early bogies to fall to 2 under. No one else was making a move. Se Ri had a two shot lead, and looked like she was on her way to the title at last. But Pettersen righted the ship after that, and made a birdie on 5 to move back to 3 under. Se Ri then bogied 8 while Pettersen birdied it, and they were suddenly tied for the lead again at 4 under, now joined by Catriona Matthew.

Se Ri had more trouble on the ninth, putting her second shot on this par 5 under a tree. She was able to punch out and save par, but Pettersen made birdie to take the lead.

So, heading for the back nine, Se Ri was one shot out of the lead. But that is nothing in Major championship pressure. With her experience, surely she would have a huge advantage over Pettersen or any of the other contenders. She just needed to play smart golf and the trophy would be hers.

But Se Ri Pak is a fighter, and she knew as well as anybody that a three stroke lead could be overcome. On the 12th hole, after a perfect drive, she put her approach within a few feet and kicked in the birdie to move back to four under, two shots behind Pettersen.

Alas, that was pretty much the last highlight for Se Ri. The rest of the round was a grueling festival of one bad shot after another. It started with a shot into the trees on the 13th hole that eventually led to a bogey. Pettersen was back to a three shot lead. Both ladies parred 14, but now Se Ri had to figure out a way to make up a three shot deficit with just four holes to play.

What she should have realized with her vast experience is that this is a course where one mistake can lead to disaster. Sure, it was possible that Pettersen was going to skate into the 18th hole without another bogey on her card. But it was also possible that the nerves would get her. Se Ri was not playing well, but she compounded the problem by playing far too aggressively given the situation. She felt as though she needed to make birdies to force Pettersen to make mistakes. But in retrospect, a conservative approach that yielded pars would have been a far better one for her to follow.

Coming into the 15th hole, Se Ri still had a three shot deficit to Pettersen. She hit a nice drive, but was too aggressive with her approach and overflew the green. She was not able to make par from there. Pettersen also made bogey, though, so the gap was still three shots. But at the same time, a few holes distant, Morgan Pressel finished her round at 3 under par, setting that as the score all the players had to beat. If Se Ri had played 15 for par, perhaps it would have been the wiser strategy.

Unfortunately, her bogey on 15 only made her more aggressive still. She missed the fairway on 16 and left herself in the rough behind a huge tree. The wise move would have been to punch into the fairway and try to get it up and down from there. Instead, she went for the green, winding up in more rough. She once again made bogey. The heartbreaking part was, Pettersen made double bogey on 16, falling to 3 under par. Se Ri was still only two shots out of the lead, but now she pretty much had to play aggressively, for nothing less than birdies was going to get her to the 3 under score she needed.

We'll spare you the rest of the story. Se Ri continued to have problems, made two more bogies, and wound up finishing the day at 1 over par, tied for tenth. Despite being in the lead at the start of the day, she actually did not beat her previous best finish at this event, which was 9th. Pettersen similarly coughed up her chance to win, and Pressel wound up with the trophy. Se Ri was crushed, but gamely signed autographs for fans and talked to the press. As the day lagged on, she found it impossible to stop the tears as she talked to these people. But being the icon she is, she continued to go through with her duties even as her heart was breaking.

There was some good news. Ahn finished tied for fifth at one under par, her fourth top ten at the last five Majors. Both KLPGA stars had great weeks. Ji Yai Shin wound up tied for 15th at 3 over par, while Hee Young Park finished tied for 31st. Jee Young Lee and Sarah Lee both finished tied for 13th, one shot out of a top ten. But all of that good news paled before the sad news of Se Ri's collapse.

Although the Korean golfers have struggled in general in 2007, there is no doubt that this was by far the most disappointing result of the year. Indeed, it might have been the most crushing defeat of Se Ri Pak's entire career. Remember, she had never before lost a 72 hole event on the LPGA when leading going into the final round. Never. And to lose the event to a first time winner who essentially snuck up on the leaders to grab the crown, while all of the top stars were down for the count, makes it particularly bitter. But though this was a horrible experience for her, Se Ri Pak will not allow it to ruin her life. She will continue to work hard to add this final Major to her trophy case, so she can at last join that elite group of golfers who have won the career Grand Slam. She might be down for now, but she will certainly bounce back and come out fighting before long.