Pak, Wie Tie for 3rd at LPGA US Open

Seri Pak (CJ) picked up her pace too late, while Michelle Wie (17) was unable to keep her hold. The U.S. Women’s Open, the third major women’s tournament this season, was held at Newport Country Club in Rhode Island on July 3.

Seri Pak and Michelle Wie finished the match, both tied in third place (two over-par, 286 strokes) after a marathon match of 36 holes in one day. They were just two strokes behind the two tied leading players (even-par, 284 strokes), Annika Sorenstam (Sweden) and Pat Hurst (U.S.), the “housewife golfer,” who are now headed for an 18-hole playoff.

Seri Pak, who was aiming for her second consecutive win after coming in first at this year’s LPGA Championship, missed two strokes in the third round, and although with Hurst, she recorded the daily best score of two under-par for the fourth round, it wasn’t enough to catch up with the leading players.

On the other hand, Michelle Wie, taking on the challenge to become the youngest major champion in history, had a tied lead as she reduced her score by one stroke in the third round, but was pushed back in her rankings as she struggled with a two over-par in the fourth round.

Although Seri Park failed to show once again the honor of climbing to the top with her “barefooted sport spirit” in this tournament as she did in 1998, it was for certain that she has overcome her slump. Michelle Wie gained a ticket to the next season’s tournament as she continued entering in the top 5, four times in a row in the major tournaments beginning with the British Women’s Open last year. One great accomplishment she earned in this tournament was that her putting improved greatly, which had always been pointed out as her weakness, and she has come in third for the average number of putts per round (28.3) in this tournament. Michelle Wie, by increasing the loft angle of her putter by 2.0 degrees with the help of John Daly’s advice, claimed she was “thrilled to gain confidence” in her putting.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com