Se Ri Pak’s farewell tour before she retires at season’s end will include the U.S. Women’s Open.
The USGA announced Wednesday that it was awarding Pak a special exemption to play the championship July 7-10 at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif.
Pak, 38, inspired a nation of South Korean women to become a dominant force in the game after she became the first Korean to win the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in 1998. She played in every U.S. Women’s Open after until withdrawing before last year’s event. She didn’t play the second half of last season because of lingering effects from a shoulder injury that have troubled her since 2012.