Pak Se-ri, Choi Kyung-ju to lead Korean Olympic golfers

Choi Kyung-ju

By Nam Hyun-woo

Korea’s golfing greats Choi Kyung-ju and Pak Se-ri will lead the country’s national team for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, The Korea Golf Association announced, Monday.

The association, which selects the national team, held a general meeting in Seoul, Monday, and appointed Choi, an eight-time PGA Tour winner, as Olympic Men’s coach and Pak, a World Golf Hall of Famer, as the women’s coach.

Choi, 46, is widely regarded as the country’s pioneer on the PGA Tour who paved the path for younger Korean golfers to have a growing contingent on the circuit.

After becoming the first Korean player to earn a PGA Tour membership in 1999, he overcame various obstacles -- from the language barrier to doubts from his home -- and won the Compaq Classic of New Orleans in May 2002 and the Tampa Bay Classic four months later. In 2008, he became the first Asian to reach as high as No. 5 in world rankings.

Choi’s most notable moment was his Players Championship victory in 2011, in which he defeated David Toms on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. While still active as a member of the PGA, he now puts much of his efforts into nurturing young golfers through his foundation. In 2015, he led the 2015 Presidents Cup International Team as Vice Captain, offering advice and guidance to team members.

Pak Se-ri

Pak, 39, who has won 25 LPGA Tournaments during her career, including five majors, inspired many Korean women golfers, such as Choi Na-yeon and Park In-bee, to follow in her footsteps.

After notching up her first LPGA win at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship in May 1988, she produced her signature moment in the U.S. Open that year, for which she is still remembered. Pak stood in knee-deep water for a recovery shot and made the putt to gain a playoff berth. After a 20-hole competition, she became the youngest woman to win two major championships in the same year, as well as winning the LPGA Rookie of the Year honor.

After setting her illustrious achievements, she qualified for the Hall of Fame at age 29 with 24 LPGA wins and became the youngest person ever to be inducted.

As the sport of golf returns to the Olympic program for the first time in 112 years, the golfers who will compete for Olympic medals under their leadership will be decided on July 11. According to the International Golf Federation, the 60 men golfers and 60 women golfers who will compete in Rio will be determined by Olympic Rankings. No more than four golfers (two men and two women) can come from any one country, but when a country has more than four players in the top 15, it can send up to four men and women, respectively.

In the men’s rankings as of Monday, An Byeong-hun sits at 17th and Kim Kyung-tae is 29th. In the women’s rankings, there are four Koreans in the top 15 -- Park In-bee (No. 2), Ryu So-yeon (No. 5), Kim Sei-young (No. 7) and Yang Hee-young (No. 8).

The Korea Golf Association said it and the two coaches will take steps to prepare for the Olympics, such as a visit to the course, accommodation, food and other things to support the golfers.