2007 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic:
Gimme Five!

It seemed like the most important thing for Se Ri, as she started her final round, was to keep Pressel behind her. If she could do that, then after a while, Pressel would be forced to become more aggressive, which might invite disaster as it had for her at the US Women's Open. Whatever happened, Pak seemingly had to get off to a strong enough start that Pressel did not get the lead.

Unfortunately, Se Ri did not follow this approach. She struggled a lot right out of the gate, and before long, her lead was history. Pressel applied pressure right away with a birdie at the second hole to cut the deficit to one stroke. On the fourth hole, Se Ri was not able to save par from the bunker, while Pressel made a second birdie, and just like that, Pressel had taken over a one shot lead. Pak also bogied the fifth hole, but fortunately for her, so did Morgan, and the gap remained one stroke.

Then came the par three sixth hole. All week long, this had been Se Ri's favorite hole: she had birdied it all three days. But Pressel had the honors, hit her tee shot first, and watched as her ball, which had gone a bit right of the hole, bounced off a mound and changed direction right towards the flag. Amazingly, it dropped in for Pressel's first career hole in one. The noise around the green following this amazing turn of events could probably have been heard in the next county. Just like that, Pressel moved to a three shot lead over Pak. But showing the truly classy athlete she is, Se Ri was the first to give Pressel a high five following the shot. Then, to show the competitor she is, she hit her tee shot to twenty feet and buried the birdie in the middle of the cup to move back to within two shots.

Later, Se Ri would admit that the sixth hole was the turning point in the match. It woke her up, and she realized she would have to step up her game to win the title that, until then, had seemed pretty much hers for the taking. And step it up is exactly what she did, in the style the fans in Toledo had seen from her many times in the past. After barely missing a birdie on the par 5 seventh hole, she nailed her nine iron tee shot on eight to two feet for a kick in birdie, then dropped another birdie from about five feet on nine. Three holes after Se Ri had watched Pressel make an ace on her, she had erased the three shot deficit and was tied for the lead at 14 under par.

Nobody else in the field was anywhere close to these two women: clearly, they were going to finish first and second. And guarantee this: Se Ri did not want to finish second. But over the next few holes, they traded pars, neither able to take that important lead over the other. But though Pak was not making birdies, her game was still exhibiting the near perfection she had shown the first three days. Her drives were straight and long; frequently she was outdriving Pressel with her three wood when Pressel used driver. She was hitting solid irons, and generally giving herself birdie tries. It seemed like only a matter of time before she caught fire again, but would it happen before Pressel struck first?

The impasse continued until they reached the short par 4 15th hole. After a perfect drive, Se Ri hit a superlative iron that very nearly went into the cup on the fly. It rolled a foot or two past the hole, putting a lot of pressure on Pressel, who was nowhere near that close. Pressel did make her par, but Se Ri tapped in for birdie to take the lead by one. The 16th hole had been bad to Pak on Saturday, but on this day she gave herself another great birdie try, once again putting the pressure on her young opponent. This time, however, she did not make the birdie, and the lead remained one.

Now came the two par 5 holes, and Se Ri's length could potentially prove the difference should she hit a great drive on 17. But she did not hit a good drive and had to punch back into the fairway. Her third was behind Pressel's, so she hit first. She hit a very good approach to about 6 feet. But then Pressel played, nailing her approach to about two feet. Se Ri would putt first, and pretty much had to make the birdie, since it was clear that Pressel was going to make hers. Despite the tricky lighting around the green, with shadows from the trees making reading the line hard, Se Ri absolutely drilled the birdie putt. Pressel also made hers, and thus Pak's lead remained one stroke with one hole to play.

Finally, the pressure got to Morgan Pressel. After Se Ri hit another perfect drive with her 3 wood, Pressel put her drive into the trees left of the fairway. Pressel punched out, and then was forced to try to go for the green with her third shot - her only chance to win was to get a better score on the hole than Se Ri. But she pushed her approach right into the gallery, well short of her goal. Se Ri then dropped her second shot into a perfect location, and hit a gorgeous pitch from there that once again nearly dropped in the hole on the fly. The crowd erupted in an enormous cacophony of cheers, for Se Ri's laserlike approach had pretty much secured the win for her. As she walked up the fairway, they gave her a huge ovation. It was a real pleasure for her to be so appreciated in this town that she loved so much. Pressel eventually made bogey on the hole, but this was all academic. The biggest danger to Se Ri's win on the final hole came when her caddie accidentally belted her in the face with the flag he was holding. But she recovered her wits enough to tap in the birdie and claim the three shot win.

Se Ri Pak's win was her first in more than a year, and the 24th of her illustrious career. That gives her three times as many wins as Mi Hyun Kim, the next most successful Korean, who has 8 total. She also joined that short list of golfers who had won the same event five times; only Annika Sorenstam and Mickey Wright had done so before. But both of them had done it at different venues; only Se Ri had won all five of her titles at the same tournament AND the same course.

Even Morgan Pressel, who had just suffered a great disappointment, expressed awe for Se Ri's accomplishment. "She is a tremendous player, and it was great to watch her battle it out and hang in there today and pull it out. There is a reason why she is in the Hall of Fame," Pressel commented. Meanwhile, Se Ri once again met tournament host Jamie Farr to receive her trophy. Earlier in the week, Farr had cracked that every time Se Ri sees him, even in the parking lot, she expects him to give her a check. This time, as he gave her the money, he told her that this was the last time she would get money from him. "Next time, we'll pay you in Mudhens season tickets and Tony Packo's hot dogs," he joked.

But all kidding aside, the people of Toledo really got a fabulous treat watching one of the all time greats make history. Which makes one wonder just what might happen when she comes back in 2008 to try to claim her record shattering sixth victory? Considering her unbelievable results at Highland Meadows, it's doubtful many would bet against her chances to do it!