Five ways the LPGA's newest tournament host, Seri Pak, forever changed golf on a global scale

This week Seri Pak returned to the U.S. to build on one of the greatest legacies the game has ever known with the introduction of the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. The event kicks off Thursday at Palos Verdes Golf Club, not far from Los Angeles. (Pak, who went by Se Ri during her LPGA career, is now going by Seri.)

The stacked field includes Nelly Korda and Rose Zhang, both of whom are returning from a lengthy hiatus from the tour.

It’s an opportunity to once again take stock of all the ways Pak has revolutionized the LPGA since her breakout rookie season more than 25 years ago. Her victory at the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open has been credited for not only revolutionizing women’s golf, but helping lift South Korea out of economic turmoil.

“That means a lot to my country,” said Pak of the heroic way she escaped from the hazard at Blackwolf Run. “I know we have a hard time, but we can still finish. We raise up. We stand up strongly.”

Pak, 46, won 25 times on the LPGA, including five majors. While she wasn’t the first player from South Korea to win on the LPGA, she was definitely the most influential. Pak entered the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2007 and retired from the tour in 2016. She joins Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie West as former LPGA stars who are currently hosting tournaments in the U.S.

As Pak enters this next phase of her LPGA career, here are five ways she changed the game: