She first won the Jamie Farr Classic in 1998 as a rookie on the LPGA Tour. Nine years later and Se Ri Pak’s victory at the same tournament made history.
On July 15, at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio, the 29-year-old beat out Morgan Pressel to take her fifth Jamie Farr Classic win. She is now one of only three LPGA players to have five victories at a single tournament.
“First of all, winning is always great,” she told the Associated Press. “The second thing is, whenever you make history, that’s pretty special.”
Despite Pak’s history of success in the tournament, the win didn’t come easy. She had to rally to overtake 19-year old Morgan Pressel who delighted the crowd when she nailed a hole-in-one on the sixth hole to take a three-shot lead. While momentum seemed to be on Pressel’s side, it was Pak who took advantage. She pulled even with Pressel on the eighth hole, then birdied the 15th to pull ahead by three strokes.
“As soon as she made [the] ace, it woke me up right away,” said Pak to the Associated Press. “I just don’t want to give up at all. I wanted to win this event so badly.”
— Chris Paek