Magazine 2003 Weetabix Women's British Open

Volume 1, Number 11 August 6, 2003

2003 Weetabix Women's British Open

Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, Results

Never before has Se Ri come so close to winning a Major only to fall short

They probably won't be waxing poetic about Se Ri.

Like a whole lot of other sports, golf seems to inspire a lot of poetic odes to the beauty and grandeur of the game. How many times have you flipped channels and happened upon a show about some historic golf tournament, where they talk about the struggle to win the tournament in epic terms. These types of shows particularly like to focus on the Major events in the men's game, especially the Masters and the British Open. Doubtless many a golf writer has made a career penning such stories. And they just as much enjoy focusing on the losers as the winners in these duels, because you cannot have a truly memorable battle without having one of each.

So will they be writing something about Se Ri and her incredible, epic, but ultimately unsuccessful struggle to beat Annika Sorenstam and win her fifth Major? Well if they won't, I will; because it was truly a magical battle, one that rightly deserves to be remembered for more than the fact that Annika won it. Those that were there (and I have heard from two people already) say that television did a very poor job of capturing the atmosphere that surrounded these two titans as they duked it out. One correspondent went so far as to say that it was the most exciting round of golf she had ever seen played, and that the rest of the crowd was just as enthralled as she was.

Se Ri won the British Open in 2001

Grace was just part of a stellar leaderboard
at the Women's British Open
LPGA.COM

This tournament deserves to go down in history just for the incredible quality of the leaderboard, particularly on Sunday. Sorenstam, trying to complete the Grand Slam. Pak, desiring to one-up her great rival and grab her fifth Major. Webb, hoping to get back on the winning track. Meunier-Lebouc, ten weeks pregnant, trying to win a second Major in 2003. Park, having already grabbed a second in a Major in 2003, hoping to go one better in her last chance of the year. All great players, all proven winners, all within four shots of the lead when the day began. And in the end, the two left standing were the two you would expect, the undisputed two best players in the game, Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak. Not only doesn't it get any better, it never even gets this good!

Se Ri came into this tournament at last heading in the right direction again. After a month of struggle during which she notched two of her worst finishes ever in Majors, she played well enough in her next few events to make the top 6 every time. If she was not quite at the level to truly contend for the title, she was still playing well enough to cash a big check and maintain her high spot on the money list. And you couldn't help feel that she had greatness waiting just around the corner. Everything about her game looked fine, just not always at the same time. But it's just a short skip from there to domination for a player like Se Ri.

And indeed, for the first two rounds of the British Open, the LPGA's fourth and final Major of the year, she played with consistency and poise. This same course had not always been so kind to her. As is the tradition, the Women's British Open is played on many of the same courses as the men play, so the ladies get the chance to play some of the most famous golf courses in the world. This year, it was played on Royal Lytham and St. Anne's, a beautiful links style course (but not really on the ocean) with those dreaded deep pot bunkers that can cause even great players to go crazy. Five years ago, Se Ri made her first trip to the British Isles as an LPGA rookie, in order to compete at this same tournament. That year, it was also held at Lytham. But the weather was, to put it mildly, horrendous. In fact, the eventual winner of the tournament, Sherri Steinhauer, shot an 81 in her first round, yet still found a way to win at +4. Se Ri was completely discombobulated by the conditions, shooting a +20 for the week and vowing that she would never return to Britain. But when the British Women's Open became a Major, she knew she would have to return. And she should be glad she did, for her last two visits have resulted in a win and an 11th place finish.

Se Ri putts in round 2
Yonhap News

Se Ri swings in round 2
AP Photo/Alistair Grant

Surprisingly, the weather was very benign for the first few days. Sunny skies, little wind, nearly perfect scoring conditions. And the field reacted in kind, shooting an inordinate number of low scores. +4 was certainly not going to win this week. Se Ri reacted to this much as you would expect, shooting two very respectable 69s to finish with a two day total of 6 under par. This left her in second place, only two shots behind Heather Bowie, who had come out of nowhere to take the two day lead. But Se Ri was by no means complacent, for right behind her were many of the top players in the game, including Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb (the defending champion), and Grace Park. Grace really shouldn't have been there after a first round 74, but in typical Grace fashion, she shot the lights out on Friday, notching a 65 that moved her right back into contention, only one shot behind Se Ri.