Editorial: Whither Se Ri? (cont)

One more stat shows a definite downturn in Se Ri's game. In 2001, her scoring average was 69.69, which still stands as the best scoring average in history not to win the Vare Trophy (Annika's average that year was 69.42, then a record). In 2002, her average slipped to 69.85, and last year, though she won the Vare Trophy, her scoring average was down to 70.03 (although in fairness, she had it around 69.85 until the last few, very difficult, events).

All of these numbers, particularly the lengthy winless streak she is now in, seem to suggest that Se Ri is getting worse, that her game is not heading in the right direction. But other stats suggest otherwise. The most telling of these is that, since the Chick-Fil-A, during that very period when Se Ri has supposedly played her worst, Se Ri has not played many bad events. In those 24 events, she has had 18 top tens (12 of which were top 5s), and 22 top 20s. Indeed, her only two bad events in the last year were the two Majors cited previously. Se Ri has never before shown this level of efficiency in her game. Even in years where she has won with regularity, she always would throw in the odd 40th place finish amongst the top tens.

Se Ri and her caddie in 2003

Se Ri at the 2004 Nabisco. She
finished 16th

So what exactly is going on? Is Se Ri getting worse, or is she getting better? The evidence seems to suggest that her B Game, the game she plays when she is not firing on all cylinders, is definitely improving. Thus, her bad performances seem few and far between. But simultaneously, her A game has gone missing. In other words, Se Ri is in a lengthy slump right now, but paradoxically, her game has so improved that her results are still quite good.

Anecdotal evidence seem to bear this out. One need only watch Se Ri play to see how her short game has improved over the last few years. Her chipping in particular seems much more confident. Just last week, she had a very nasty chip on one hole across a treacherous green that she negotiated to within a few feet of the flag. This is the kind of shot that killed her at the Open in 2003, and has always been a (relative) weakness in her game. Her win at the Chick-Fil-A contained several clutch short game shots, including a beautiful flop over a bunker to save birdie, and her sand play at last year's British Open was by and large marvelous.

On the other hand, she missed a lot of fairways in 2003, more than at any other time in her career. That kind of thing will haunt you at Majors, and might explain her relative lack of success at them recently. Unfortunately, the LPGA does not have 2004 stats available, so it is hard to know if Se Ri's driving has improved statistically. But from what few reports we've received, and what we've seen on TV, it looks like her accuracy is up a bit, her length has improved, and her swing has noticeably changed for the better.

Indeed, it's always possible that a swing change might be partially at fault for her slow start. Se Ri has traditionally had a problem with her club position at the top of her swing. In the off season, she and her coach worked on this, and you can now see that her top position is usually great right now. But her irons have generally not been as close, implying that she is not yet 100% comfortable with the changes she has made. This is hardly surprising: swing changes can often take months to implement. If the result at the end of this is a more accurate Se Ri who is still capable of her usual killer runs, then perhaps we needn't worry too much.

Another sign that things aren't too bad is that she is still second in the league in birdies (at least before the Office Depot she was). But her scoring average is not in the top ten, meaning she is making far too many mistakes to offset her brilliance in other departments. Again, a new swing might have something to do with it.

It could also be that she is feeling the Hall of Fame pressure. Her win at the Farr closed her to within 2 points of entering the Hall. This has always been one of her stated goals. With her Vare Trophy win last season, that gap now is one point. One more win and she's in. No doubt this is playing at least a little on her mind.

Surely we've seen some uncharacteristic frustration from her on course. At the Office Depot, she banged her club on the ground several times and seemed depressed to onlookers. At the Nabisco the week before, she even cursed after a bad shot, most unlike her. It's clearly not lack of desire that is her problem.

Se Ri's putter misbehaved at the
Office Depot

But in general, it is tough to see exactly what is going on with Se Ri. At the start of 2003, she won twice in 5 tournaments, then tacked on another win in Korea shortly thereafter. She looked on the cusp of a great run of golf; but has only won once since then. And wins are the measure of greatness, not top tens.

Se Ri needs to forget about Annika Sorenstam, being number 1, and the Hall of Fame for awhile, and focus on her own game. If she can get herself back on the winning track, get her game back to where it was when she was shooting 25 under par at the Ping or final round 64s at the Chick-Fil-A and Safeway Ping, the wins will take care of themselves, as will the Hall qualification. Once she improves her win rate again, once the Hall of Fame qualification is a done deal, then we can focus on the race for number 1.

Editor's Note: as we went to press, Se Ri announced that she would be skipping this year's Takefuji Classic to give herself three straight weeks off from the tour. She explained that she felt she had put too much pressure on herself to win right away in 2004, which in turn affected her swing. She said she needs to work on it again so she feels comfortable out on the course. She also wanted extra rest so she could refocus herself. It's encouraging that, unlike in times past, she is willing to do what is necessary to get herself to her top possible level, even if that means skipping events. Here's hoping she will quickly gain the final Hall of Fame Point when she returns for the Chick-Fil-A Charity Championship in three weeks time.