SE RI PAK was profiled by Sonja Steptoe on CNN's "Page
1," who reported that Pak "was catapulted into rarified air"
following her three LPGA wins, including two majors. STEVEN
KIL, Pak's manager: "I think [in Korea] Se Ri's like MICHAEL
JORDAN in the USA I think Korea's never had this kind of
celebrity." LPGA Commissioner JIM RITTS: "Very simply put,
there has probably not been this level of interest and
attention on the LPGA Tour for 20 years since NANCY LOPEZ's
rookie year in 1978." Nancy Lopez: "She's just really down
to earth, and wants to absorb everything that's happening.
She's just really enjoying it." Pak, on her demeanor on the
course: "I don't have nerves on the golf course. It's my
job. Everybody has a job. Are they nervous at their job?
No, I don't think so. So I don't have nerves and I just
play my game. I have fun" ("Page 1," CNN, 7/18).
PAKIN' SOME HEAT: NEWSWEEK's John Leland profiles Pak
in this week's issue under the header "Don't Call Her
Tigress: Se Ri Pak, The Hottest Golfer Since You-Know-Who."
Leland writes that like TIGER WOODS, Pak "is already
boosting ticket sales." JAL Big Apple Classic officials say
her presence "nearly doubled attendance," and Tournament
Chair Bob Schwartz said Korean companies were "buying blocks
of 500 tickets. That's never happened before." Lopez, on
Pak's impact: "She's just what the tour needs right now.
She can carry us onward" (NEWSWEEK, 7/27 issue).
