Seri Pak’s success in 1998 changed women’s golf in profound ways. Pak was the only South Korean player on the LPGA when she won two majors that season. A decade later, more than 40 South Koreans had LPGA cards, and the phenomenon soon spread throughout Asia.
Pak, however, wasn’t the first South Korean to win on the LPGA. That bit of history belongs to Ok-Hee Ku, who won the 1988 Standard Register Turquoise Classic. Woo-Soon Ko, a South Korean who never became an LPGA member, won the Toray Japan Queens Cup, a co-sanctioned event, in 1994 and 1995.
Pak was the third Korean-born player to win on the LPGA and the first to win a major. It’s only fitting that the sporting icon now has her own namesake event on the LPGA in the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, which kicks off this week in California at Palos Verdes Golf Club. (Pak, who went by Se Ri during her LPGA career, is now going by Seri.)
A total of 49 South Korean players have won a combined 220 LPGA titles. Here are the winningest South Korean players in LPGA history:
Se Ri Pak during first-round play in the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports Copyright © 2007 Geoff Burke
While Pak’s 1998 U.S. Women’s Open Championship gets all the attention, her first title actually came just a couple months prior at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship. Pak’s 25 LPGA victories include five majors. She became the first South Korean to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2007 and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame that same year. Pak retired from the tour in 2016 after playing one round on home soil at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.
Inbee Park hoists the U.S. Women’s Open trophy after her victory at Sebonack in 2013.
A seven-time major winner, Park won the first three majors of the calendar season in 2013, with her streak coming to an end at the Old Course, where she tied for 42nd at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. Park qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2016, the same year she won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics. Park hasn’t competed on tour since giving birth to her daughter in April 2023.
Jin Young Ko lines up a putt on the eighteenth green during a playoff hole against Megan Khang at the end of the final round of the CPKC Women’s Open golf tournament at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Despite being riddled with injuries during the course of her short LPGA career, Ko has managed to win 15 times since joining the tour in 2018. A two-time LPGA Player of the Year and two-time major champion, Ko’s consistency made headlines when she went 114 holes without a bogey in 2019, breaking a record set by Tiger Woods.
Sei Young Kim tees off on the sixth hole during the final round of the CPKC Women’s Open golf tournament at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Kim won her first LPGA title in 2015, amassing 12 titles over the span of six seasons. She shed the best player without a major moniker at the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA at Aronimink. She’s also a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo.
Jiyai Shin won the Evian Masters on July 25.
Few players in the modern game have been as globally successful as Shin. A 21-time winner on the Korean LPGA, Shin joined the LPGA in 2009 after winning three times as a non-member the year prior. The two-time major champion then left the LPGA in 2014 and took up membership on the JLPGA to be closer to family. She has won 30 times in Japan, giving her 64 titles worldwide.
Na Yeon Choi of South Korea, tees off on the first hole, during day one of the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters at Miramar Golf & Country Club on December 6, 2013 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Photo by Gareth Gay/Getty Images)
Fourteen years after Pak hoisted the trophy at Blackwolf Run, Choi did the same in Wisconsin when she won the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open by four strokes. Choi, who joined the LPGA in 2008, retired two years ago and went out with a bang, winning a BMW New X7 with a weekend ace at the BMW Ladies Championship.
Mi Hyun Kim of Korea plays the 1st hole, during the Evian Masters women’s golf tournament in Evian, eastern France, Thusday, July 27, 2006.
The petite Kim, known as “Peanut,” joined the LPGA in 1999 on the heels of Pak’s success. She donated $100,000 of her 2007 SemGroup Championship winner’s check to victims of a devastating tornado in Greensburg, Kansas. She’d never been to Kansas.
In-Kyung Kim of South Korea holds the trophy after her victory during the final round of the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns Golf Links, on August 6, 2017 in Kingsbarns, Scotland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Most known for a devastating one-foot miss at Mission Hills that cost her a major championship title, the petite Kim clawed her way back to win the 2017 Ricoh Women’s British Open. Kim has played a limited LPGA schedule since 2020.
Sung Hyun Park of Korea poses with the trophy after the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open on July 16, 2017 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Park took the golf world by storm when she became the first player since Nancy Lopez to win both LPGA Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the same season in 2017. A two-time major winner, Park’s nosedive down the rankings came as quickly as her ascension. The former No. 1 is currently ranked 251st.
Hee-Won Han winner of the 2006 Corning Classic at the Corning Country Club in Corning, NY on Sunday, May 28, 2006. (Photo by S. Levin/Getty Images)
The 2001 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year was one of the few South Korean players to continue playing the LPGA as a mom. Han’s husband, a retired baseball player, worked as a commentator back in South Korea. Han won six times from 2003 to 2006 and retired a decade ago.
Grace Park of the United States watches her drive during the first round of the Evian Masters golf tournament played in Evian, eastern France, Wednesday June 12, 2002.
After a highly-decorated amateur career in the U.S., the South Korean-born Park won her first LPGA title as a rookie in 2000. All six of her victories, including one major, came in her first five years on tour. She retired in 2012 after dealing with a number of nagging injuries.
So Yeon Ryu during a practice round ahead of the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston. (Photo: Robert Beck/USGA)
Like several women on this list, Ryu’s breakout moment came 13 years ago at a U.S. Women’s Open when she defeated Hee-Kyung Seo in a three-hole playoff. Ryu’s second major title would prove even more dramatic when she defeated Lexi Thompson in overtime after the popular American endured a highly controversial four-stroke penalty on the back nine Sunday.
Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea poses for a photo while holding the trophy on the 18th green after winning the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship on October 22, 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images)
Ji, 37, won her first LPGA title in 2008 and her latest in 2022. The 2009 U.S. Women’s Open winner drained a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to clip Cristie Kerr. Nicknamed “Mickey Mouse” because of her smile.
Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea poses with the winner’s trophy after winning the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on May 02, 2021 in Singapore. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
Kim recorded the lowest round in a major, 61, as a teenager, en route to victory at the 2014 Evian Championship. It was her first major championship appearance. She lost the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open in a playoff against Ariya Jutanugarn.
Ha Na Jang of South Korea reacts after driving the ball on the 6th tee box during the second round at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
The demonstrative Jang delighted LPGA fans with four titles in two seasons and then took everyone by surprise when she abruptly left and returned to the KLPGA in 2017. She’d win again on the LPGA two years later at a co-sanctioned event in South Korea. Jang, who said she left the LPGA to be closer to family, has 15 titles on the KLPGA.
Amy Yang of Korea poses with the CME Globe trophy after winning the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 19, 2023 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Yang won her first title on U.S. soil last November at the CME Group Tour Championship, ending a four-year drought. With 21 top-10 finishes in the majors, she remains one of the best players not to win one.
Mi Jung Hur poses with the winner’s trophy while wearing the winner’s wreath after winning the Indy Women in Tech Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/R Brent Smith)
Hur last won on the LPGA in 2019 and last competed on tour in 2021. She gave birth to a son, Ji-An Wang, in 2022.
Mirim Lee of South Korea poses with the trophy after defeating Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson in a playoff to win the ANA Inspiration at the Dinah Shore course at Mission Hills Country Club on September 13, 2020 in Rancho Mirage, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Lee’s crowning achievement on the LPGA came at the 2020 ANA Inspiration when she chipped in for eagle on the 72nd hole to get into a playoff. She won on the first extra hole with birdie. Lee competed only once last year — at the U.S. Women’s Open.
Seon Hwa Lee during the final round of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Lee won four times between 2006 and 2008. The 2006 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year turned professional at age 14, making her the youngest South Korean female pro at the time. Lee last competed on tour in 2015.
In Gee Chun celebrates with the championship trophy after winning the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
A three-time major winner, the player known as “Dumbo” burst onto the scene in 2015 with her victory at the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club. Chun’s affection for Lancaster was so great, that she started the In Gee Chun Lancaster Country Club Educational Foundation, which awards educational scholarships to those in the community.
Chun has won three different major titles.
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