Pak returns to LPGA Tour as tournament host

Se-ri Pak in Incheon, South Korea, biding farewell to the tour in 2016. Now she returns with her own event. — Reuters

SOUTH Korean World Golf Hall of Famer Se-ri Pak is set to return to the LPGA in 2024 as tournament host of the March 21 to 24 event at Palos Verdes Golf Club in suburban Los Angeles.

Pak, who retired from the LPGA Tour in 2016 after a distinguished career that transformed the women’s game, said it was an honour to become host of the newly-renamed Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship.

“Mentoring the next generation of golfers and giving back to the game I love is at the core of everything I do,” Pak said in a statement from the world’s elite women’s circuit. “I’m excited to kick off this new partnership and elevate this tournament to great heights on the LPGA Tour.”

Pak, who turned professional in 1996, sparked the South Korean revolution on the LPGA Tour by winning two majors in her 1998 rookie season – the Women’s US PGA Championship and the US Open. Her career haul of 23 LPGA titles includes five majors.

This latest development comes after global investment firm Fir Hills entered a multi-year agreement with the LPGA as a tournament sponsor.

The tournament in LA will feature a field of 144 of the world’s best professional golfers competing for an increased prize purse of US$2mil, a $250,000 hike from 2023.