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LPGA KEB HANABANK CHAMPIONSHIP

October 11, 2016

Se Ri Pak

Incheon, South Korea

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. I'm here with Seri Pak and LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. We'll start with Mike Whan giving a few opening remarks about Seri and her contribution to the LPGA and golf.

MIKE WHAN: Well, thanks for having me here, and Sean, you know I speak fast so this is going to be a lot of work for you. But at the LPGA, we have a motto that we use. It's called "act like a founder," which means like our founders 66 years ago, try to leave the game better than you found it for the next generation. We're lucky because nobody has lived that motto more than Seri. When you talk about leaving the game better than you found it, Seri is the living example.

20 years ago, people thought about golf regionally. Tours were regional. Television was regional. But you jump forward in the era that Seri created, women's golf is global. Players come from all over the world. We play all over the world. We're televised all over the world, and most importantly, little girls all over the world grew up watching you and saying, I want to do that, too.

I've read a lot that Seri created a real explosion in Korean golf, but I really think that's too narrow. I think what Seri did is really wake up all of Asia to this opportunity and created a Tour for us that we probably couldn't have envisioned in 1997.

A lot of our fans and media know that Seri is one of the best female players in the world, but what they probably don't know is, at least in the time I've been there in my seven years, she's not only a player, she's a mentor out here, she's a parent out here, she's a coach, she's a friend. I've seen a lot of players, young and old, not just younger players, come to Seri for guidance and advice, and I've seen at least one commissioner come to her for guidance and advice.

When I was first commissioner, 2010, my first pro in a pro-am was Seri. I didn't expect to get an education that day, but I did, and not just in playing golf, but I remember we were walking off the third or fourth green, and Seri went over to all the volunteers that were standing behind the green and shook their hands and said, thank you for being here, and walked to the fourth green. I've been doing that in every pro-am in the seven years since.

My best Seri memory was right here at Hana Bank. I can't remember if it was 2010 or 2011, maybe it was 2012, we were on the first tee -- I'll just tell the story and you can translate. But we were on the first tee, there was probably 10,000 people there. You were either leading or you were in the penultimate group, the second to last group, and it was you, So Yeon Ryu and Suzann Pettersen, and when you walked onto the tee, 10,000 people started taking pictures with their camera, and it was before you could turn it to silent, so it was making all these noises. So I went over to the starter and said, can you just announce if everyone could just put their phone away. Behind me there was a photographer, and he announced, could everyone could just put their phone away, and there was 10,000 to 15,000 people taking a picture of the man who was saying, can you put your phone away, and I have that picture in my office of 10,000 people taking a picture of Seri while somebody said, please stop taking pictures, and that's when I knew that this was more than just a great golfer but this was a global superstar.

Because Seri and I are such good friends, she's agreed to play for six more years -- no, I'm just kidding. (Laughter.)

Seri, I'm always impressed with the golf talent out here, but you've made my job easier the last seven years. You've made dreams for young women all over the world, and it's going to be a strange experience when I walk into my first player meeting when you're not sitting in there. It's going to be hard to take.

Thank you for acting like a founder your entire career.

SERI PAK: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: With that, Mike, I think you have to yield the floor to Seri to let her have her share.

I'm going to start with just two questions and then we'll open it up to the media. Mike was talking about how a lot of the players come to you for advice, and I'm curious how your advice over the years has changed from when you first started your rookie year in 1998 to now, maybe your advice has changed, the kind of words that you give to the players?

SERI PAK: You know, it really hasn't hit me yet that I'm sitting here in front of all of you announcing my retirement. I know we have a couple more days to go here, and I'm not even sure that it's going to hit me once we get through this tournament. But I've been thinking about retiring probably the last three years or so.

You know, as it relates to really giving advice to the players, in the beginning I think it was more about, hey, practice hard, do better, play better, and spend more time practicing on the range and on the greens. But I think over the years, it has changed, and that's really based on my own experience.

Kind of going back when I grew up, I started on the KLPGA Tour. I watched a lot of my senior players, and one day I had a dream, and it has always been my dream to play on the biggest stage, and that's what led me to the LPGA Tour. In the beginning I'd like to say that I was probably a very fortunate one and lucky person to be able to get to where I am, but over the course of the last few years, I think I've sort of changed the tone of my advice to the players. In the beginning it was always about practice more, do better, focus on the game, but now I think based on my experience, practice isn't everything. I think you don't need to tell the Korean players on the LPGA to go practice more. They already do that. Our players are working very hard, and that's one of the main reasons why they play so well.

But it's really to have more time for yourself to reflect upon what you've been doing, and that doesn't mean practice less. Like I said, players practice a lot, whether I tell them or not, whether anybody else tells them or not. But they work hard. They're hard workers, and they spend a lot of time.

But really invest more time for yourself, maybe after the round. Don't just think about golf. Again, that all comes from my own experience to be able to have more time to think through and to reflect on what else is happening and not to just completely put your focus on golf and practicing golf only.

Q. Everyone in Korea and beyond knows you and knows about your career, and I'm curious what you want to be known as? I know for me, you were a beacon of hope in the late 1990s when Korea was going through a very difficult financial situation, so to me you were a symbol of hope, and I'm wondering what you would like yourself to be known as in Korea and beyond, what you want your sort of image to be?
SERI PAK: You know, I feel the same way today as I have felt a long time ago. Of course everybody wants to remember as the best player, one of the greatest players, and of course that's great. But if there's one thing that I want to be remembered for for Seri Pak is someone who really greatly impacted the game beyond just what happens inside the ropes. As you've seen with Mr. Arnold Palmer, who unfortunately passed away not too long ago, I want to be remembered in a way that everybody cherishes and respects what I've done, whether that's from all the little girls who are watching and playing golf today or anybody else that I love and ever loved me. I want them to remember me as a person who has impacted the game in various ways and really helped improve the game of golf around the world.

Q. Obviously Mike Whan coming on board as the commissioner of the LPGA, I think the direction of the LPGA Tour is very clear, and that's becoming a global tour. That's probably one of Seri's greatest impacts as a player to really turn this into a global tour with everybody coming from all around the world, but you remember back a few years ago when LPGA had a, quote-unquote, movement to have an English policy, where everybody was speaking the same length in English. Now that you are about to retire and some time has passed, can you just give us a kind of sense of what was happening around that time, whether with other fellow players, inside the clubhouse? How did players really react to that English policy?
SERI PAK: You know, when I first got to the Tour, of course everybody calls the LPGA the world tour, the global tour. Yes, we did have some of the world's best players playing on the LPGA when I first got there, but it wasn't quite the world tour, and I think that was part of LPGA's growing pain, to become that global tour. At the time when this happened, when I was first there, I think most of the Tour membership was made up of largely Americans and some Europeans, and I think I was one of two or three players coming from Asia, and when we got to that English policy, when that came up, of course it was very uncomfortable. Of course it was offensive. A lot of people were upset.

But at the same time I think that really helped accelerate the growth of the LPGA as the global tour. I think it also helped everybody to understand one another a little bit better beyond just a language barrier, and mostly on the cultural side. I think I really very much looked at that as a growing pain of the Tour.

At the same time as a byproduct of that issue or movement, I think the more Korean players today are coming and more Asian and non-American players are coming to the LPGA better prepared to handle that aspect of the job. I think while it was a growing pain and to kind of reflect back on that, it was upsetting, offensive, and uncomfortable in some ways, it is something that has bettered the Tour today, so I'm happy that we are where we are because of that.

Q. You played the last U.S. event, U.S. Women's Open, and you showed a lot of emotions and tears, and I think Karrie Webb walked with you until the end. Give us your thoughts and emotions that were going through your mind.
SERI PAK: When I started that event, U.S. Women's Open, just like today, it hadn't really hit me that I'm retiring and this was my last event on the U.S. soil. It was just maybe today, maybe tomorrow. I'm going to retiree vently. ^ Check.

But the last three holes as I was walking up the last day, I had a lot of mixed emotions. I felt like it was just all part of the film, part of a movie. I was happy, I was sad, I was disappointed, lots of mixed emotions were going on in my head the last three holes, and once I holed out and walked off the green, there were many players there waiting for me to greet me, and it was very emotional. Again, I feel like there's some things I've done well, there's some things I could have done well, and when Karrie came up to thank me and to share a lot of different stories with me, I was sad, but at the same time I was ready and I was happy.

You know, as an LPGA player, as a golfer, as Seri Pak, I've gone through a lot. I've experienced a lot. I've learned a lot. I've also earned a lot. The game of golf has been great to me and has given me just about everything, and that's who I am today.

I think golf has been, if not the whole life, but it's been a big part of my life, and of course leaving that game which meant so much and was such a big part of my life behind, is a tough thing, and it's tough not to show emotion, so throughout that time, there were a lot of mixed emotions and that's what really got me to be emotional on the last day of the U.S. Women's Open.

Q. I've got a two-part question. Going back to that period of time when you first started playing on the LPGA Tour, that period of time about the English issue and not being comfortable. Since you've been playing golf, we've seen golf grow tremendously in Asia, many more golf courses, but most importantly, I think, we have golf courses today with Tour competitions on them that have been prepared to the same level as anywhere else in the world. We're seeing Tour conditions here in Korea, Tour conditions all over Asia. How important is that for the young players today to be able to compete here in Asia on world-class conditions? How does that help them become more comfortable when they go to the USA and Europe? Second part of the question is women's Tour golf has grown tremendously worldwide, but yet in golf today, in the business end of golf, the opportunities for women in management of golf and golf courses still is predominantly a male business. What advice do you have for the world of golf regarding improving that situation?
SERI PAK: You know, because a lot of the Korean players are playing so well on the world stage, many people ask the question, is there really a special program and some great program in Korea that really helps nurture and really gets these players to the next level. You know, frankly in my opinion, I'm not sure that Korea has the optimal environment, whether that's golf courses or the programs themselves, to really compete with some of the other countries.

But I think the biggest thing about Koreans, I guess we can mention two things. One is ability to adjust to whatever that you're playing, whatever environment you're playing in, and secondly, we have a very -- we're very strong psychologically because most of us play with a lot of pressure, and we know and dealt -- we know and we've dealt with pressures from early on, so I think those are two things that really makes players play better, and I think today the Korean LPGA Tour has gotten a lot better in terms of their talent, whether it's the top level of player as well as the depth of the players that they have, and I think with that comes better programs, comes better preparations, so that now that KLPGA is part of the Rolex World Rankings and they earn world points, it gives them more opportunities to play against the best players in the world, including the LPGA Tour, and I think that's what's really gotten the players to perform at a higher level.

Q. Seri, you're obviously part of the announcement not too long ago about getting rid of certain taxes or golf taxes, but most people still feel golf is in everyone's sport. It's still a sport for the elite, and I think you're putting in some efforts to get it better, but can you kind of talk about that?
SERI PAK: You know, most of you know that golf has come a long way, and I think looking back 20 years to today, there's been a lot of changes. Obviously in our culture, yes, that perception exists that golf is a sport for elite, and of course being able to train to become a professional or being able to play golf on the field and the golf courses, yes, it could be expensive, and I know those costs, but if you compare that to some other sports, I'm not sure if it's really that drastically different, whether it's tennis or any other sports.

I think a lot of people read about the prize money, purse that we play for and then the endorsement contracts that players sign and how much it costs to do different activities, but today golf has evolved. It's not just played out on the golf course. We can now play golf inside like a lot of other sports or maybe even better than other sports.

Unfortunately the perception is there, but hopefully through the Olympics we can change the perceptions, and I think it's not just about me, but it's about even the members of the media here and everybody who needs to work together in order to really knock down that perception of golf being an elite sport.

In order for all of us, whether it's business or players, to consistently perform at the highest level, I feel it's vital that we change the perception so that golf can be a bigger part of the sporting or the sports map here in Korea.

Q. It just seems like yesterday when I interviewed you in November of 1997. It just really seems like yesterday, but I can't believe you're already retiring. As you mentioned earlier in your previous answer, you say you want to be remembered as the player that really deserved and received a lot of respect from other players. I feel you already deserve that. I think you already get that from everybody else. What I want to know now is now after you're done playing, off the field, in other spaces, what are your future plans, and what do you plan to do to continue to work for the game of golf or stay involved in the game of golf?
SERI PAK: I think I can tell you that I've gotten this question consistently from many people, and I think my answer has been pretty consistent. I think I can tell you because now I feel like I know what I want to do.

As an athlete and as a golfer, and most of this is based on my experience, although our players are playing better, and this isn't just for golf, the game of golf, but for all athletes, I feel like we could have a better program or system in place where there is a place or a facility to practice or have a more systematic program in place that helps all the athletes who are representing their families and more importantly Korea. I think it's my way of just -- what I wish I knew, what I do know now, what I didn't know then, but throughout this experience of my career, I feel like I've gained a lot of good information and valuable knowledge.

I may be just looking at this from my perspective, and there might be more things that I don't know today, and I'm happy to admit that. But just based on what I know and see, I'd like to provide a better environment. I think the key word is environment, where players and athletes, not just golfers, once again, but the athletes can thrive in a better environment, better system, better program, and that's what I think I want to work towards after my career is over.

Q. I think one of the things that a lot of players want as an athlete and as golfers is to have a really long career. I know you're leaving the game now, but you have some other players like Karrie Webb who's sort of older and played longer. Isn't it kind of sad that maybe you're leaving a little too early?
SERI PAK: You're right, I'm sad that I'm leaving the game, and of course you talk about a long career, and I think that's important for a lot of athletes. It's important for me, important for everybody else. But at the same time, I'd like to be maybe considered as an example of someone who isn't just all about the playing career today, but to be able to really think about the directions and think about planning the next career beyond my playing career, and I want people to know that's what I really want to do, and I've been thinking about this for a very long time, so I am sure that I don't have any regrets about making this decision.

I'm not in a position today to make a difference, and I'm not sure if I can change everything, but I want to work towards being in that position and putting myself in the position to be able to influence people, whether it's players who are coming after me or the players who will retire in the next few years. I want them to have more thoughts and consideration of what's next, and I think -- because I don't have all the information today, and I'm not complete in terms of knowing what else is going on, but from what I know, from the knowledge and information that I have, I want to have more time to really work towards being that person to really just help not just the golfers but really all the athletes, and I think that's a better way to think about and to be able to represent Korea in the world of sports.

I want to really improve those things. That's really the next phase of my career, and that's why I'm so excited. I'm happy to retire.

Q. Obviously you deserve all the respect and support from everybody, and you had such a successful career in 20-plus years. I just want to see what you want to say to yourself after this long journey.
SERI PAK: I work way too hard.

I worked really hard in my career as a golf professional, and I've also earned and learned a lot by doing that, so golf has been everything to me. It's been a life to me. That's been great.

But I think moving forward, I might be seeing you more, not as a professional golfer Seri Pak, but in a different position, so hopefully you will continue to help me and continue to write good stories about not just me but also all the athletes in Korea. I've had a successful career, and I just want to thank you all for coming.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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