Pak Wins With Another Record

Moments after winning the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic with the lowest all-time LPGA score, Se Ri Pak had some incredibly bad news for those she had left in the dust at Sylvania, Ohio.

“I am only 20 years old. I have many, many years left,” said Pak, the first-year player from South Korea. “I can play many, many years, can play in many, many tournaments. I will play my best in every tournament.”

Her final-round five-under-par 66, on the heels of record rounds of 61 and 63, left her at 23-under 261. The victory, less than a week after winning the U.S. Women’s Open in a 20-hole playoff on Monday, was worth $120,000.

The 261 total is the lowest in a 72-hole LPGA tournament, four strokes better than the previous record set by Wendy Ward at the 1997 Fieldcrest Classic on a par-72 course and matched by Lisa Walters in this year’s Oldsmobile Classic on a par-72 course and Kelly Robbins in last year’s Farr on the 6,319-yard, par-71 Highland Meadows Golf Club.

Her 23-under score in relation to par matched the lowest in LPGA history, set by Ward last year and tied by Walters.

Lisa Hackney, who shot a closing 65, finished second at 14 under. Pak’s final-round playing partner, Karrie Webb, had a 67 and was third at 13-under 271.

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Steve Jones won his eighth PGA Tour title and prevented another first-time winner with a one-stroke victory over Scott Gump in the $1.55 million Quad City Classic at Coal Valley, Ill.

Jones’ four-under-par 66 gave him a 17-under 263 total for his first tournament victory since the Bell Canadian Open last September. The 1996 U.S. Open champion earned $279,000 with the victory.

Gump, who was trying to become the seventh first-time winner on tour this year and the third in as many weeks, finished with a 68 for a 264 total, one stroke better than Kenny Perry, who closed with a 68.

Casey Martin shot a final-round 69 and finished at four-under 276. It was enough for him to earn his first PGA check--$3,178--since his landmark lawsuit for the right to ride a cart in PGA tournaments.

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Gil Morgan birdied six of the first 10 holes and made it hold up for a three-stroke victory over Hale Irwin in the Senior Players Championship at Dearborn, Mich.

Morgan shot a 66 for a 21-under-par 267 total, breaking Dave Stockton’s 1994 record of 17 under at the TPC of Michigan. Irwin, the Senior PGA Tour’s leading money-winner, closed with a 68 for 270.

It was the fourth win this season for Morgan, who earned $300,000.

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Former Pittsburgh Penguin star Mario Lemieux made three consecutive birdies capped by a 10-foot putt on the final hole to make up a five-stroke deficit in the last six holes to win the ninth Isuzu Celebrity Golf Championship at Edgewood Tahoe.

Lemieux, who had an opening round 76, came back to shoot 67 and 69 in the last two rounds of the 54-hole tournament to finish at four-under 212, one stroke ahead of Kansas City quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver and former Miami Dolphin safety Dick Anderson.

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The Results

Se Ri Pak tied the 72-hole LPGA record of 23-under par, set by Wendy Ward in 1997 and matched earlier this year by Lisa Walters in the Oldsmobile Classic. Winners of Sunday’s tournaments (complete scores, C11):

LPGA Jamie Farr Kroger Classic--Par 71

Se Ri Pak: 71-61-63-66--261 -23

Lisa Hackney: 69-68-68-65--270 -14

Karrie Webb: 67-70-67-67--271 -13

Senior Players Championship--Par 72

Gil Morgan: 69-64-68-66--267 -21

Hale Irwin: 66-69-67-68--270 -18

Isao Aoki: 71-69-66-69--275 -13

PGA Quad City Classic--Par 70

Steve Jones: 64-65-68-66--263 -17

Scott Gump: 65-67-64-68--264 -16

Kenny Perry: 65-65-67-68--265 -15