The 2025 U.S. Women’s Open is currently taking place in the great state of Wisconsin for the third time. What transpired the first time the championship made its way to the state changed the world of women’s golf forever.
The 1998 U.S. Women’s Open was played at Blackwolf Run in Kohler. The beautiful but demanding tree-lined course is known for its tough greens that run along the Sheboygan River. The course was celebrating its 10th anniversary of opening, and what an iconic celebration it would become.
It seems unfathomable to think of a time without LPGA stars from South Korea, but that was the case before this major championship. 20-year-old Se Ri Pak was the first, and she was rising fast. At only 20-years-old, Pak had already captured her first major earlier that year at what is now the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. It was her exploits in the Badger state though that made her a legend.
Four days and 72 holes weren’t enough to decide the champion as the brutal test of Blackwolf Run saw Pak and American amateur (and fellow 20-year-old) Jenny Chuasiriporn tied at +6 heading into an 18-hole Monday playoff. At the time, Pak wasn’t even aware that the playoff wouldn’t be sudden death.
Chuasiriporn got off to a commanding four-stroke lead through five holes, but threw almost all of it away with a triple bogey on hole six. At the turn, Pak was at +3 for the round while Chuasiriporn was at +1.
Pak turned on the gas though on the back nine, with birdies on 11, 12 and 14. After eight pars in a row Chuasiriporn made her first bogey of the back nine on 18. While it was a disappointing result for Chuasiriporn, it was a miracle for Pak to match it.
Pak’s tee shot had landed right near the water on 18, in a decent lie but with a stance that would force her to go in the water if she wanted a chance to get a stance. She did just that, taking her shoes and socks off and going into the shallow penalty area. She got a club on it and back in play. The rest is history.
After pars for both players on the 19th hole of the playoff, hole 20 would be the place that women’s golf history changed forever as Se Ri Pak became the youngest player ever to win two major championships with a clutch birdie.
Pak went on to win five majors in total along with 20 other LPGA Tour events. She is in the LPGA Hall of Fame and is arguably the most influential player to see the tour since the 13 Founders. Major champions Inbee Park, So Yeon Ryu and In Gee Chun have all talked at length about Pak as the player who inspired them to start their iconic careers.
26 major championships were won by players from South Korea between 2008 and 2021. All of them can either directly or indirectly be traced back to Pak’s win at Blackwolf Run. One of those wins was back at the site of the iconic championship, when Na Yeon Choi won the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open.
When fans enter the gates at Erin Hills this week, they walk through a series of displays celebrating the champions of the historic event. Fittingly, the first player that they will pass is Se Ri Pak.
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