Se Ri Pak earned her first career LPGA Tour victory on May 17, 1998, as an LPGA Tour rookie, and by doing so, she became the first player from the Republic of Korea to win a major championship. She won the McDonald’s LPGA Championship on that date at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Del., after beating Donna Andrews and Lisa Hackney by three strokes with a four-day total of 11-under.

Pak went on to win three more times during the rest of her inaugural season, the most notable of which was her victory at the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis. on July 6, where she famously took off her shoes and played a shot from the water on the final hole of an 18-hole playoff with amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn to force extra holes, ultimately winning on the 20th hole in what is the longest official tournament in Tour history.

She also picked up victories at the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic and the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic in July of 1998, wins that helped propel Pak to the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award and the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award. Pak was also named the GWAA Female Player of the Year that same season.

Her four wins tied Karrie Webb in 1996 for most wins by a rookie in a single season, and she was the first player since 1980 to capture their first two LPGA Tour victories at major championships. Pak’s fellow Korean In Gee Chun and Japan’s Yuka Saso have since done the same on the LPGA Tour, with Chun winning the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open as a non-member and then capturing the 2016 Amundi Evian Championship and Saso winning the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open as a non-member and then collecting her second career victory at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open.

Pak went on to win a total of 25 times on the LPGA Tour and captured three more major titles at the 2001 Weetabix Women’s British Open, the 2002 McDonald’s LPGA Championship and the 2006 McDonald’s LPGA Championship. She made over $12 million in career earnings and was inducted into both the LPGA Hall of Fame and the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007. Pak was the 2006 Heather Farr Award recipient in 2006 and won the Bob Jones Award in 2020.

Considering her status as the first Korean to win a major championship, Pak is largely credited with the forthcoming success of her fellow countrywomen on the LPGA Tour, with several of the next generation of talented Korean golfers being referred to as “Se Ri Kids.” She is still the winningest Korean of all time on the LPGA Tour.

On This Date: Se Ri Pak Becomes First Player From Republic of Korea to Win a Major Championship

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