SEOUL, South Korean golf legend Pak Se-ri said Monday she would love to give hopes and dreams to players competing at an upcoming LPGA tournament bearing her name.
Pak, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, will team up with a Silicon Valley-based investment company Fir Hills to host the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, starting March 21 at Palos Verdes Golf Club in suburban Los Angeles.
The 72-hole tournament will have a field of 144 players competing for a US$2 million purse, up by $250,000 from last year, when it was called the DIO Implant LA Open.
“I am looking forward to hosting a tournament with my name on it in the United States, and there’s also some pressure that comes with it,” Pak said at a press conference in Seoul. “I am honored to have this opportunity. I will try to grow this tournament into something that can provide the LPGA Tour and its players with dreams and hopes.”
Pak, who won 25 LPGA titles, including five majors, previously hosted a South Korean tour event bearing her name from
2014 to 2022, and also staged junior tournaments on both sides of the Pacific.
“Based on my experience as a player, I want to cater to players’ needs the best I can, be it their accommodations, dining and course conditions,” Pak said. “It’d be great if this tournament can be played for a long time and end up as part of golf history.”
Among South Koreans, world No. 9 Kim Hyo-joo has committed to the newly-named tournament, along with former world No. 1 Shin Ji-yai and three-time major champion Chun In-gee.
World No. 2 Nelly Korda and seventh-ranked Lydia Ko, who have each notched a victory in the 2024 season, will also tee off at Pak’s tournament. They will be up against Brooke Henderson, a 13-time LPGA winner, and Atthaya Thitikul, the 2022 LPGA Rookie of the Year and the 2023 scoring champion.
Source: Yonhap News Agency