Print this page  |  Close Window

PGATOUR.com news services

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. -- When Se Ri Pak's final putt on the 18th hole dropped Thursday and signaled the completion of her first round at the McDonald's LPGA Championship, she officially qualified for entrance into the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame. Pak will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame at the annual induction ceremony at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla., on Nov. 12.

"This is the best moment of my life and I'm happy to be an LPGA member joining the Hall of Fame. This is my biggest dream and basically dreams do come true," said Pak after qualifying for the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame. "This is one of the things that I've dreamed about and finally I've made it."

Thursday marks the end of more than a three-year wait, as Pak earned the requisite 27 points needed to qualify for membership into the Hall with her win at the 2004 Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. However, Pak had to wait for today to complete the final requirement: completing 10 seasons as an active member of the LPGA Tour.

When Pak burst onto the LPGA scene in 1998, she recorded one of the best rookie seasons in Tour history. During that season, she captured two major victories, including her first of three McDonald's LPGA Championship wins. A mere month later, she became the youngest winner in U.S. Women's Open history after winning a 20-hole playoff against amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn, making that tournament -- at 92 holes in length -- the longest tournament ever in women's professional golf.

With those two majors under her belt, Pak joined Juli Inkster as the only LPGA players to capture two modern major championships in her rookie year. Overall in 1998, Pak accumulated $872,170 in season earnings, ranking second on the money list behind Annika Sorenstam, notched four Tour victories and ran away with the Rookie of the Year honor.

Pak, who single-handedly introduced competitive golf to young females in South Korea, now has 23 career victories to her name, including five majors. Her official entry into the Halls of Fame comes at the site of her first career victory, the McDonald's LPGA Championship, which she has won three times, and is defending this week.

The Hall of Fame criteria for active LPGA Tour players are based on accumulating 27 points based on performance and a 10-year-minimum for membership on the LPGA Tour. The criteria for an active player are: must be/have been an "active" LPGA member for 10 years; must have won/been awarded at least one of the following -- an LPGA major championship, the Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honors; must have accumulated a total of 27 Hall of Fame points, which are awarded as follows -- 1 point for each LPGA official tournament win, 2 points for each LPGA major tournament win, 1 point for each Vare Trophy earned, 1 point for each Rolex Player of the Year honor earned.

The members of the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame are: Patty Berg (1951); Betty Jameson (1951); Louise Suggs (1951); Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1951); Betsy Rawls (1960); Mickey Wright (1964); Kathy Whitworth (1975); Sandra Haynie (1977); Carol Mann (1977); JoAnne Carner (1982); Nancy Lopez (1987); Pat Bradley (1991); Patty Sheehan (1993); Betsy King (1995); Amy Alcott (1999); Beth Daniel (1999); Juli Inkster (1999); Judy Rankin, (2000); Donna Caponi (2001); Marlene Hagge (2002); Annika Sorenstam (2003); Karrie Webb (2005); Pak (2007) and honorary member Dinah Shore (1994). Pak will join Hubert Green (Veteran's Category) and Curtis Strange (PGA TOUR Ballot), among others who are yet to be announced as part of the 2007 Class of Inductees.

Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved.