“I’ll Be Satisfied If I Learn a Skill by Challenging Male Golfers”

Pak Se-ri didn’t have any fatigue on her face despite her ten hour-long night flight. Her appearance of a casual training suit and sports shoes appeared to reveal her secret desire to head to the golf course right away. She was full of expectations and nervousness upon her upcoming tournament.

Arriving at Incheon National Airport at dawn on October 14, Pak Se-ri (CJ) temporarily visited her home town before leaving behind her active performance in the LPGA tournaments. This is her first visit since last May, and she is planning to pit herself against top professional men golfers at the SBS Super Tournament Golf Championship, which will be held on October 23 at the Lakeside Golf Course (par 72) in Yongin city, Gyeonggi-do.

Pak Se-ri has been tenacious in the tough world of golf competition, meanwhile, with the upcoming tournament, she seems very cautious because she has no clue about her first competition with “professional top male earners”, which is the exact expression how she described her competitors. In the meantime, she showed a challenger’s confident manner saying that she will enjoy the challenge.

Q: “You appeared to have lost your weight.”

A: “I haven’t weighed myself recently so I am not sure of that. I sometimes overworked due to the tense schedule. I guess my intensive physical training also affected my weight.”

Q: “Is there any reason that you decided to challenge male golfers?”

A: “There is no limit in the world of golf, and golf is a procedure of constant challenge. I am fulfilled if I learn something with a learner’s attitude. I think this challenge will be helpful on my bigger challenge such as the PGA Tour in the future.”

Q: “Are you confident to make the cut?”

A: “I am not 100% sure of that. Honestly speaking, in terms of capacity and distance I am not equal to men golfers. Moreover, the course condition is different compared to the U.S.. Once I pass the preliminary, I will try to make it within the top 10.”

Q: “All the previous ladies golfers couldn’t make the cut against the male golfers. How do you expect to do better than that?”

A: “For me, it’s burdensome as well. But I just can’t sit nervously and do nothing about it. It’s important to get rid of the heavy burden. I’ll do my best to play well and to live up to all the expectations on me. ”

Q: “How much of the Lakeside Course have you experienced before?”

A: “I played at the course a long time ago, so I don’t remember it well. I think the greens in Korea are slower than the U.S., and I wish Korean greens will become faster.” (Ms. Pak finished second place in the Women’s Korean Open in 2001 in the third round, 4-under-par at the Lakeside Course. This time she will play in 6305 yards, which is 700 yards longer than her former course in 2001.)

Q: “You have to share the tee box with male golfers. Do you find any difficulty on that?”

A: “I worry about the par 4-hole rather than the par 5-hole. I played a round at a long 7,000 yards course and I always found it difficult at par-4-hole. I have to play with longer clubs than my usual clubs because of the distance burden, so I think making no mistakes will be critical, and the issue will be decided on the green at the end.”

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com