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Se Ri's not about to Pak it up

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Posted: Saturday May 08, 1999 08:49 AM

After four wins, including two majors, as a rookie last year, Se Ri Pak is in a serious slump.

In 10 events this season, her best finish is a tie for 11th. And in her last 19 tournaments Pak has finished better than 10th only once. Although the 21-year old-Korean hired IMG to guide her through increasing pressures from family, sponsors and media, she is still recovering from what is hoped to be temporary burnout.

Pak gave a hint to her state of mind during a visit this week to Old Waverly in Mississippi, where she will defend her U.S. Women's Open crown in four weeks.

"I like a quiet place," she said, "where you can concentrate and get more rest."

Not just for long ballers

You don't have to be a long hitter to make hay on par 5s, as Bruce Fleisher proves. The Senior Tour's money leader and a three time winner already this year ranks 50th in driving distance with an average of only 254.9 yards. But Fleisher is number one in scoring on the par 5s, playing them under par 45.7 percent of the time. The reason lies in two other statistics -- Fleisher also leads the tour in both putting and sand saves. The moral is you can never be too good with the wedge and the putter.

Lovely statistic

Wondering who has had the most top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this decade? Well, no. 5 is Scott Hoch with 69 top-10s, No. 4 is Greg Norman with 70, No. 3 and No. 2 are Fred Couples and Nick Price with 72. And No. 1 is ... Davis Love III, with 81.

Global warning

And In case you needed any proof, golf has become dramatically more global in the last decade. In the 1980s, international players won 41 times on the PGA Tour. In the 1990s, that number has more than doubled to 91, with Australia's Stuart Appleby winning last week, non-Americans have claimed seven of the 18 titles this year.

 

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