[PHOTO: Orlando Ramirez]

Seri Pak has responded to the surprising news about the cancellation of the LPGA Tour event that bears her name, the World Golf Hall of Famer saying on social media she hopes the tournament can return to the LPGA schedule some time in the future.

In a release sent on Saturday, the LPGA announced the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship had been cancelled due to the tournament underwriter “failing to fulfill any portion of its payment obligations to the LPGA Tour for the 2024 and 2025 events”. The LPGA did not release the name of the underwriter but said it would work with Fir Hills.

The tournament was set to be played at the Palos Verdes Golf Club outside Los Angeles from March 20-23. Pak, who lives in South Korea, wrote on Instagram – in Korean – about her disappointment.

Her statement, translated through ChatGPT, reads in part: “…I sincerely hope that no one’s reputation is damaged due to misleading or malicious articles that are not based on verified facts and are unrelated to the official LPGA announcement. I have always known that my dreams and the dreams of the next generation of players are on the same path. In times of great trials in life, I always remind myself not to waver but to stay focused and move forward with relentless effort.”

It’s not clear, however, what malicious articles she was referencing.

While the tournament was first started in 2018 under the name of the LA Open, last year was the first time Fir Hills was the title sponsor and that Pak served as host. Nelly Korda won the tournament, one of her seven victories on the season. She earned a first-place prizemoney payout of $US300,000 from the overall purse of $US2 million.

The LPGA said it would be working with Fir Hills and Pak to explore options for rescheduling the event. Asked last week if the event will be back on the schedule this year or at any other time, an LPGA spokesperson said, “We’re doing our best. We exhausted every effort to keep this on the schedule this year. We’re working with the underwriter and hopefully when this is resolved, we can find time to get it back on the schedule. I don’t want to speculate one way or the other [if it’s possible].”

Pak posted this response to her 333,000 followers on Instagram.

“With the launch of the first LPGA tournament in 2024, I felt that I had taken a big step toward fulfilling that mission,” Pak wrote on Instagram as translated via ChatGPT. “However, due to the worst wildfire in LA history and the significant damage it has caused in nearby areas, along with various other complex circumstances, it has become extremely difficult to proceed with the tournament as planned in March near LA. We are currently in close discussions with Fir Hills and LPGA officials regarding the situation, and we will do our utmost to reschedule the event and ensure there are no issues with preparations.”

Without the event on the schedule, the LPGA is down to 32 official tournaments for 2025, with just two events scheduled in the five weeks preceding the tour’s first major, the Chevron Championship, in April.

Pak, 47, was a trailblazing golfer who won 25 LPGA titles and five majors. Her most famous win on tour was her first, the 1998 US Women’s Open. Her playoff victory inspired an entire generation of Korean and Asian golfers to follow in Pak’s footsteps (1998 is even part of her official Instagram account name, SeRiPak1998). She retired in 2016 and was inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.

This LPGA Tour event is not the only professional golf tournament in the Los Angeles area that won’t be held as scheduled. The Genesis Invitational, a PGA Tour event hosted by Tiger Woods, was moved from Riviera Country Club to Torrey Pines for one year. Riviera is in Pacific Palisades, an area devastated by the recent Palisades Fire. The country club was unaffected but there was devastation all around.

The LPGA kicks off its 75th season this week at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida.

This is Pak’s full statement, translated by ChatGPT:

“As the Lunar New Year approaches, I would like to express my gratitude and apologies to everyone who may have been surprised or concerned by the sudden news articles regarding the cancellation of the LPGA tournament.

Since my retirement, I have taken on challenges in various fields, but hosting an LPGA tournament has been one of my deepest wishes. I want to provide more opportunities for many golf players to shine on a bigger stage. As a senior in the sport, I feel a strong sense of responsibility and duty to help make that dream a reality. With the launch of the first LPGA tournament in 2024, I felt that I had taken a big step toward fulfilling that mission.

However, due to the worst wildfire in LA history and the significant damage it has caused in nearby areas, along with various other complex circumstances, it has become extremely difficult to proceed with the tournament as planned in March near LA. We are currently in close discussions with FIR HILLS and LPGA officials regarding the situation, and we will do our utmost to reschedule the event and ensure there are no issues with preparations.

That being said, I sincerely hope that no ones reputation is damaged due to misleading or malicious articles that are not based on verified facts and are unrelated to the official LPGA announcement.

I have always known that my dreams and the dreams of the next generation of players are on the same path. In times of great trials in life, I always remind myself not to waver but to stay focused and move forward with relentless effort.”

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