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Don't worry about Se Ri Pak not concerned with slow start in 1999
Posted: Friday May 07, 1999 03:59 PM
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) --After making big noise last year as a 20-year old rookie on the LPGA tour, winning four tournaments including two major championshps, South Korean Se Ri Pak's 1999 season has been conspicuously quiet. In ten tournaments this year Pak has no victories, no top ten finishes, and is 40th on the money list. In fact she does not rank in the top ten in any of the tour's statistical categories. "My swing feels, everything's great but my putting...I don't have the feel," Pak said. "Last year when I was sick I lost all of my feel" The illness came during an October trip back home to South Korea, where the demands on Se Ri's time were so relentless, the exhausted national hero was hospitalized for three days with a dangerously high fever. "Meet people, meet President, say 'Hi', then you know, things like that," she said. "It was 'move next, move next, move next.' I mean, uh!! A very tough schedule. I didn't have any time to rest, even ten minutes you know." Pearl Sinn, a South Korean native and a 9-year veteran on the LPGA Tour says Se Ri withstood played through incredible pressure to win, not only for herself, but her country as well. "With Se Ri playing so well, I think it uplifted the whole nation and they kind of rode along with her, along her high," Sinn said. "And I'm sure that's a big pressure for her. She's such a strong player mentally that she probably won't say that it bothers her. But I'm sure that's a big pressure on her" With her life in near chaos, Se Ri decided to make some big changes in the off-season to simplify her life. She hired a new management company to take care of her engagements. She moved into a house in Orlando, Florida with her sister. And she brought back her father as her primary coach. And even though she hasn't won yet this year, she says she's much happier. "I know that I can play more, longer," Pak said. "I'm happy to play. If I feel like last year, uh! I don't know when I top golf, you know?" Unable to speak English this time last year, the mentally-tough Pak often appeared stoic, almost too focused. But far more relaxed this year, Pak is seeking a 50/50 balance between golf and her personal life. Speaking of balance, consider that Pak's statistics are almost identical to this time last year. So her rabid followers back home in South Korea who have difficulty understanding why she doesn't win every week shouldn't panic just yet. But even if the wins don't come as often as last year, Pak said she'll keep a healthy perspective. "Just still work hard," she said. "I do my best every week. Then I don't want to push myself. Right now I'm 21 years old. It's my second year. And actually who knows, I have to play a lot. A long time. I don't want to push myself. I just want to learn slowly" It seems clear that Pak -- who was a sprinter in high school -- is treating her golf career like a marathon. Now if only her South Korean countrymen could be as patient.
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