Pak recovers her golf game
Published: 09 Aug. 2004, 22:21
Meg Mallon claimed victory in dramatic fashion at the LPGA tour event, nailing a three-meter (10 foot) birdie putt on the 18th hole to break a three-way tie with Stupples and Pak.
Pak had been in a two-month long slump since winning the Michelob ULTRA Open in May. She finished a disappointing 68th at the Evian Masters in July, and 21st at the Weetabix Women’s British Open last week.
The second-place finish at the Jamie Farr Classic was her first top-10 result in the past nine LPGA tournaments she has participated in. It’s a tournament Pak has won four times in her career.
Pak was four strokes back heading into the fourth round on Sunday and knew she needed a big game to pull within striking distance of winning.
“I had a lot of pressure going into Sunday because five shots (to overcome) is a lot,” Pak said in an interview. “I was trying to make a bunch of birdies today because I did not have many birdies.”
Pak was pleased with the result, telling reporters, “I think my game is back.”
She birdied the sixth hole to produce a three-way tie for first place, and narrowly missed another four-meter birdie putt on the 17th. Pak was tied for fifth at three-under-par after the third round, but said her hopes were buoyed by the fact she once shot 10-under-par at the same golf course.
Jang Jeong finished at three-under-par and a three-way tie for sixth place. Jeon Seol-an was tied at 13th with one-under-par. Kim Young finished the tournament at one-over-par, tied for 22nd. Song A-ree finished in 30th place at two-over-par.
The tournament winner collected $165,000 in prize money. Pak took home $86,873 for her efforts.
Annika Sorenstam tops the overall money list for the year, followed by Mallon. Grace Park occupies the fourth position, Kim Mi-hyun is seventh and Pak is in eighth.
by Limb Jae-un, Chung Jeh-won
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)