2007 McDonald's LPGA Championship:
Quotes About Se Ri Pak

Korean Golfers:

"Everyone in Korea wanted to be like Se Ri. She was a hero."
Jeong Jang

"If you were Korean at that time, you would think about the Japan Tour. After Se Ri Pak, going to the USA became possible. It
was like, 'I can do this. I can win here.' "
Jimin Jeong (Futures Tour player)

“In Korea, people who don’t know golf know Se Ri. She's everybody's hero in Korea."
Birdie Kim

“Se Ri is just like Tiger is to every American kid. We all wanted to be her.”
Birdie Kim

" I think it means a lot to all of the Korean players... Because of her, we can be that good. We just had confidence with the golf. I think, yes, I think she is wonderful. Her personality is really nice, too... She is really nice to everybody, young people. "
In-Kyung Kim

"I dream of doing what Se Ri has done."
In-Kyung Kim

"Before when I came here, like a lot of Korean players, [I] thought of America as too big. [Pak] changed our minds, changed our thinking, [convincing us that] 'We can do that, too.'"
Mi Hyun Kim

"When Se Ri won the US Open, I took golf seriously and hoped to play as a professional someday. After she got famous and won a lot of tournaments, a lot of people played golf and it became popular. So many junior golfers took golf seriously. She's meant so much to all of us out here."
Jee Young Lee

"Se Ri Pak. Yeah, in Korea, every junior golfer like my age... they start golf because of Se Ri Pak... I remember that US Open when she won—where she took off her shoes. Now I have that, too. (a white tan line) I saw it and wondered what it was and now I have it, too."
Na On Min

Other Golfers
"The bar was set so high because she won so fast that it left her open for criticism. It's remarkable how she's come full circle at such a young age. She's a tough woman."
Lorie Kane

"I saw her cry many tears. She could have quit but never did. She understood the significance of opening the gate for the other Korean players. She's a great ambassador, a great person. She's a great golfer, too."
Nancy Lopez

“I admire her a lot. She’s very special. Sometimes I don’t think she even realizes how big she is.”
Lorena Ochoa

"I feel really proud to have played my career with Annika (Sorenstam) and Se Ri, for the three of us to be in the Hall of Fame is really special."
Karrie Webb

“In 1998, there was one Korean on the tour. Now there are 32. That’s because of her. She is the face of Korean golf. If they don’t already know, they should know now how much she’s done.”
Karrie Webb (After the 2006 LPGA Championship)

"There wasn't probably a person in the field that I would have been happier to see win."
Karrie Webb (After the 2006 LPGA Championship)

Others
"Se Ri is the woman who changed what was possible. She is the woman who made a statement not only for golfers and athletes, but for people who never really considered all the possibilities for their lives. In Korea, Se Ri is not just a star, not just an icon. She is a metaphor."
Eric Adelsen, ESPN The Magazine

"She has left an indelible mark on the lives of so many young boys and girls who dream of one day having a career in golf. She's shown them that it's possible; dream big; work hard; never give up. She has shown them what's possible."
Carolyn Bivens, LPGA Commissioner

"When she won the US Open, she became a hero, not just to golfers but to all Koreans. The whole country followed her. When she wasn't winning, a lot of people worried. They wondered what was wrong. Last year, when Se Ri won the LPGA Championship, the story I wrote was the biggest story used all year from the news agency. Their hero was back."
Minsuk Choi, JNA Korea News Agency