Seri Pak and Tiger Woods started their careers around the same time. The former was in 1998, two years after Woods debuted on the PGA Tour. Fittingly, Pak, a 25-time winner on the LPGA Tour, now has a tournament she’d host around the same area where Tiger Woods hosts the Genesis Invitational. The Dio Implant LA Open has been renamed the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship.

The South Korean legend admits her English has gone soft because of a lack of usage. It’s been eight years since retirement, and Pak has comforted herself into the post-retirement life. She now manages her foundation and sponsors a few events, a path also taken by Annika Sorenstam. But more than her Swedish counterpart, it’s Tiger Woods who comes up in conversations solely because of the dramatic impact Park had on the game.

Seri Park wants to do ‘better’ than Tiger Woods

Like the 15-time Major Champion, Seri Park had an undeniable influence on golf—both in her country and globally. And now they have a tournament under their name in Los Angeles. What does she think of the comparison, though? “I’m going to be better than Tiger in the future, I say. I say that,” Park said with hearty laughter.

Since Park won the US Open in their rookie year, the number of South Korean female golfers has gone up from 350,000 to 1.3 million, Beth Ann Nichols of Golfweek reported. The LPGA Tour now stops at seven Asian venues, up from only one in 1998. Moreover, South Korean players have over 200 titles, of which Seri Pak has 25.

However, the five-time Major winner is as humble as ever. “It’s not as high as what Tiger does because Tiger is such a great player, but at the same time, it’s women’s side, and especially I’m Asian. I’m trying to do my best way that career, and in the future, I’m trying to get most better person to make this huge happening more. I’m trying to work hard.” In 2016, the Hall of Famer’s last year on the Tour, ten of the top 20 players were of Korean descent. 18 years prior, Park was the only South Korean on the LPGA Tour.

Tiger Woods has played in his event before but was not so lucky this time, walking off mid-round on Friday because of influenza. For Park, this is the first time teeing off at her own event. How is she feeling?

Keep your expectations in check

How her game will be is anyone’s guess, including the LPGA veteran herself. But what Park does know is that she is nervous. Park told the media that, “I used to be a pro, but this is my first time as not a player. It’s going to be fun, but at the same time, I wasn’t playing golf much at all.”

Either it’s going “to be okay or it’s going to be really worse,” Park adds. Her game won’t matter, of course. What matters is her stepping on the greens. Ruoning Yin, last year’s PGA Championship winner, said, “Se-ri is such a legend. It’s just amazing to be part of the field. I would love to meet such a legend. That would be my dream.” That’s the impact Seri Park had through her 18-year playing career.

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