South Korea's Pak Se-ri won the 1 million Jamie Farr Kroger Classic Sunday. Park shot a 3-under 68 final round for a combined 269, holding off the challenge of Sweden's Maria Hjorth who finished two strokes behind in second place.
Pak's 15-under total included rounds of 70, 62 and 69 on the 6,365-yard par-71 Highlands Meadows course in Sylvania, Ohio to
record her third victory of the season on the LPGA Tour and also
her third in four years at the Jamie Farr event after wins in 1998
and 1999.
The 25-year-old Korean star clinched the championship by grabbing birdies at the final two holes while Hjorth's challenge floundered at 17 when she found a greenside bunker with her approach and ended up bogeying the hole.
By winning the tournament, Pak earned 150,000 dollars, raising her total prize money for the year to 958,992 dollars, ranking third in the LPGA behind Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb.
Pak holds the Kroger Classic four-round record at 261 (23 under par) and the course record of 10-under 61, both of which she set with her victory in 1998.
Another South Korean golfer, Kim Mi-hyun, shot 62 in the final round to finish at 276, grabbing joint ninth place and her seventh top 10 finish on the LPGA Tour this season.