‘Se-ri kid’ clinches US Open

Choi Na-yeon, left, is doused by others including Pak Se-ri, right, after winning the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament in Kohler, Wis., Sunday. (Photo : AP-Yonhap)

In 1998, at the height of a currency crisis gripping Korea, Pak Se-ri’s landmark victory at the U.S. Women’s Open inspired a nation to get back on its feet.

Some girls were inspired to follow in her footsteps, and were given the moniker “Pak Se-ri kids.” One of them, Choi Na-yeon, 10 when Pak won, has accomplished the same feat her hero managed 14 years ago.

On Monday morning (KST), the 24-year-old Choi lifted the U.S. Women’s Open trophy and was congratulated by her role model after victory at the LPGA Tour’s third major of the year.

“She said, ‘Hey, Na-yeon, I’m really proud of you. You did a really good job, and you were really calm out there.’ She talked to me a lot. And she was hugging me,” said Choi, who became the nation’s sixth golfer to win the title following Pak in 1998, Birdie Kim in 2005, Park In-bee in 2008, Ji Eun-hee in 2009 and Ryu So-yeon in 2011.

“That was ― like 14 years ago, I was only 10 years old, and when I was watching TV, my goal was ― my dream was I just want to be there. And 14 years later, I’m here right now, and I made it. My dreams come true. It’s an amazing day today.”

Choi who matched the fifth-lowest round in Open history with a third round 7-under-par 65, triumphed with a 1-over 73 for the final 18 holes to finish at 7-under, beating compatriot and playing partner Amy Yang by four strokes.

Thanks to the remarkable third-round performance that gave her a six-shot cushion over Yang, all she needed to do to claim her first major and sixth LPGA Tour title was to stay out of trouble.

But on the par-5 10th, Choi made triple bogey, which cut her lead to two strokes, but the Korean, made up for the slip with birdies at 11, 15 and 16.

“At that moment, I thought maybe I might screw up today, but I thought I needed to fix that. I can do it. So I tried to think about what I had to do,” she said.

“So I decided to have to talk with my caddie. So I started to talk with my caddie about what airplane to take tomorrow, or about the car or about the vacation.”

Choi, who started playing golf aged 10, thanked her father for helping her become what she is now. At a gas station her father runs in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, Choi would practice her wedge shots and he would catch them with a baseball glove. Sometimes, she would hit shots into a rice field behind her house.

After arriving in Korea today for a week-long stay, Choi will travel to London to watch the Summer Olympics and start preparing to try and make another dream to come true.

“My final goal is I want to play in the 2016 Olympics and get a medal under the Korean flag. That is my biggest goal right now. I mean, I can be like No. 1 in the world or Player of the Year, but my biggest dream is playing at the Olympics in 2016. That’s why I want to go to the Olympics this year and see what the feeling is like there. I want to just feel that.” <The Korea Times/Kang Seung-woo>

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