Pioneer Pak heads Korean success story

With Pak Se-ri blazing the trail for others to follow more then a decade ago, South Koreans have changed the face of the women's game through a winning blend of raw talent and an extraordinary work ethic.

Pak and her compatriots now make up the largest foreign contingent on the US LPGA Tour, accounting for more than a third, and it is very rare for a tournament to pass without a South Korean challenging for the title.

The numbers emphasise how the LPGA Tour has become not only a truly international circuit but a virtual backyard for Pak and her compatriots.

Ninety-seven players were in the field for last week's Kraft Nabisco Championship, the opening women's major of the year, and 28 of those were South Koreans while the US contributed 31.

Of the 122 active players on the 2009 Tour, 47 are from South Korea and the Asian country has won 10 of the 45 majors held since the end of the 1997 season.

Pak, a five-times major champion, knows she can claim much of the credit for the Korean influx.

"I think I have brought along this generation for the last 11 years," the 31-year-old told Reuters at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, California. "It was huge after I won the U.S. Open and then everybody was thinking about golf and wanting to play.

"Everyone in my country is really on to golf now more than other sports. It used to be that soccer and baseball were really big but right now golf has attracted a huge number."

Pak moved to the US as a 20-year-old and clinched two majors in her rookie season in 1998, the McDonald's LPGA Championship and US Women's Open.

IMMEDIATE SUCCESS

Although she was the only Korean on the circuit at the time, her immediate success paved the way for a steady stream of South Koreans to land on US shores seeking golfing fame and fortune.

In a Golf World column last year, Eric Adelson described Pak as "a pioneer...who changed the face of golf even more than Tiger Woods".

Woo Chan-myeong, Pak's former coach, said: "Se-ri opened the gateway for South Korean women. She was a real inspiration to junior and senior golfers alike who had been dreaming about making it in the US."

Pak, who won her most recent major at the 2006 LPGA Championship, believes she gave her countrywomen the confidence to succeed, in tandem with the renowned Korean work ethic.

"They are young and have a long way to go but they are learning really quick," she said.

"Most of them are mentally strong enough to be out here and handle all the pressures of professional golf."

Shin Ji-yai, 21, is the latest sensation from South Korea and broke through at the highest level by winning last year's women's British Open at Sunningdale by three shots.

She had already broken virtually every record on the Korean Tour with 10 wins in 19 starts in 2007, fitting reward for her hard work, according to her Australian caddie Deane Herden.

"Last year, when I was working with Ji-yai in Korea, she would be practising all day at the golf course, checking the golf course and doing whatever," Herden told Reuters.

"She then had the pro-am dinner to attend and I'm thinking we would go back to the hotel but no, we've got to go to the driving range at night from 7.30 till 10 pm -- and that was the day before the tournament started," he added with a broad grin.

KOREAN DEDICATION

"That just gives you an idea of what the dedication of these Korean players is like. It's unbelievable."

Herden, who has spent more then a decade working as a caddie in South Korea and Japan, says the role of the parent has been a significant factor in the success of Korean golf.

"Korean parents are very strong and very strict with their kids," he said. "They are constantly making sure they're doing the right thing.

"They're in control and they, the kids, follow orders from dad. Plus mum and dad are always travelling with them. It's a strong family entourage."

Although a move to the US is never easy for an Asian player with the cultural challenges presented by a different language and diet, Herden believes the Korean mindset adapts.

"It doesn't matter if it's a putt for a double-bogey or a triple-bogey, they will keep grinding, every shot counts," he said.

"That's why their success has come in America as well because they can pretty much play anywhere with that attitude. They're very, very tough."

Herden sees no end in sight to the production line of Korean golfers for the women's game.

"There's a whole breed of them," he said. "The Korean Ladies Tour is a great starter tour and they've got about 26 tournaments now. They can play on that for a couple of years and then they come here to the US and they're ready to win."