“Rather Die than Lose”

“I rather die than lose. Who cares about the second place winner?”

Se Ri Pak (26 years of age – CJ), ‘the Queen of Golf’, returned home in glory on May 14. She had brightness on her face since she ranks the first place in prize total recording 562,900 dollars, awards from 2 first places victory and 5 times of finishing the top 10 during her participations in eight tournaments of the U.S. LPGA Tour this year.

Se Ri Pak, who always arrives at dawn in order to overcome the jet lag, landed in the Incheon International Airport around 5 o’clock in the morning, which was an half hour earlier than expected. After having a brief welcome interview, she headed to Lotte Hotel, located in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. The following interview at the hotel lobby was achieved after persuading Se Ri Pak who does not consent any exclusive interviews at all due to her tight schedule.

The two victories in this season (Safeway PING, Chick-fil-A Charity) were the exciting retrogressive victories by hitting 8 under par at the final rounds. This characteristic of her prospect of victory surely creates curiosity.

“All throughout my childhood, I`ve heard my father saying ‘the second place doesn`t matter. There is nothing but the first place.’ Surely, no player loves to lose but I am extreme by far. I keenly felt the necessity of being the first even more since becoming a professional golfer. Only the strongest survives.”

Thus, the driving force of her ability to hit 8 under par in the undefeated extra rounds (four out of four) and the final rounds is this strong mentality she possesses.

“I don`t quiver or get nervous when I enter into the extra rounds. Instead, I feel comfortable. I don’t have any explanation on why I perform better especially on weekends. Perhaps it’s because my physical strength is slightly better than others. I will be able to easily win if I do well in the first and the second rounds but … (smiled).”

Even during the season, Se Ri Pak builds up her physical strength by having weight training on Mondays and Tuesdays and various aerobic exercises on Wednesdays. The secret to her iron thighs seems to lie in her daily physical trainings.

During the interview, she received a phone call from her personal caddy, Collin Kahn (British – 34 years of age), who also has come to Korea with Se Ri Pak. The content of the conversation was Collin asking for help from Se Ri on the course exploration of 88 CC, the site for the 2003 MBC X-Canvas Women’s Open which Se Ri Pak is participating. From this phone call, Kahn`s integrity to serve her player under a perfect condition can be felt. She wanted to look over the course after flying over 10 hours to Korea.

“I truly desire to win especially for the sake of Kahn. I haven`t had any single victory in the national tournaments since my advancement to the United States. The CJ Nine Bridge Tournament of last year was also an American LPGA Tour.”

Pak`s 12 meter par putting in the 17th hole (par 4) in the 4th final round during the Safeway PING (her first victory in this year) and the 4.5 meter birdie putting in the 3rd hole during the 4th extra final round in the Chick-fil-A Charity are still vivid in the memory. What kind of feelings did Se Ri Pak have at these moments?

“My mind is empty during the serious moments of putting, especially when determining victory. Rather, I am more nervous at the short putting at the final hole after the victory has been concluded. It would be so embarrassing to mess up (smiled).”

Se Ri Pak is very tranquil about her rival, Annika Sorenstam (Sweden). When the criticism on the Sorenstam’s PGA challenge by Vijay Singh (PG) was brought up, she carefully stood up for Sorenstam by stating, “There are more negative perspectives in the United States. However, since golf is a personal fight with one self, isn`t it up to the player to pursue any challenge? I also am interested but since I have a goal yet to achieve thus it is not the right time for me.”

“Surely, Sorenstam greatly has improved the distance of her drive shots. On average, she hits 10 yards further than me. However the distance of the drive shot is not a big problem. My iron shot`s distance is about one club or one and half club longer than other players on average.”

As always, there is over flowing confidence within Se Ri Pak. Would it be too immoderate to say that this kind of her confidence has placed her in the top places of the U.S. LPGA?

Young-Sik Ahn ysahn@donga.com