Let the Fun Begin for Victorious Pak

So here are Se Ri Pak’s off-season plans:

“Party all night, sleep all day, nonstop eating,” she said.

Yes, the debate ends here . . . winning is a good thing.

There’s nothing like being a 22-year-old superstar who has eight victories in only two years and enough money to party, sleep and eat all she wants.

After a one-hole playoff Sunday lasted just long enough for Pak to stick a three-foot birdie putt in the bottom of the 18th hole, win the PageNet Tour Championship and collect $215,000.

Why, it was enough to get some really good feelings about this place, Pak said.

“Just exciting,” she said. “Fun city. Fun golf course. Fun tournament. Playoff. It’s exciting. Everything pretty much fun for me this week. Just happy.”

Of course, you can see her point. Pak managed to get past Karri Webb and Laura Davies in the playoff after all three tied for the lead at 12-under 276. As close as they were on the scoreboard, Pak set herself apart with an uncannily accurate eight-iron to the green from 138 yards out, the ball coming to a stop only a few paces above and to the right of the hole.

All she had to do to win was make that putt, since Davies 25-foot chip shot from just off the green stopped rolling only an inch from the hole. The best she could do was tap in for par.

“I don’t see how I missed,” Davies said.

The it was Webb’s turn. Her 20-footer for birdie slid past the hole on the right by a foot.

Webb thought Pak could make the putt even if she used a bunker rake.

“She would have had to hit a pretty bad putt to miss it,” Webb said.

Standing next to Webb by the side of the green, Davies folded her arms across her chest and waited for the inevitable. There was no question that Pak would make her putt, she said.

“Absolutely,” said Davies, who is now 1-8 in playoffs, but believes she knows why.

“I keep losing,” she said.

Meanwhile, Pak keeps on winning. Her fourth LPGA tournament victory of the year moved her past Annika Sorenstam into third place on the money list with $956,926.

Pak’s eight tournament victories are starting to take on a certain look. In six of them, she was either the leader or tied for the lead after three rounds. It’s the look of a closer.

Webb said she is becoming accustomed to it, which is what happens when you’re the runner-up in three of Pak’s four victories this year, as Webb has been.

“She’s got my number right now,” Webb said.

As a consolation, Webb wound up hitting a triple. She finished the greatest year of her four-year career by winning the money title, $1,591,959, winning the player-of-the-year award and winning the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average.

In fact, Webb’s 69.43 is the lowest in LPGA history, breaking Annika Sorenstam’s year-old record of 69.99, the first sub-70 average.

“It’s definitely been a year to remember,” Webb said. “You never know how many of these years will come by. Maybe there will be only one. Maybe not.”

The only player who had a chance to upend Webb in the money race and for player of the year was Juli Inkster, who needed to win on Sunday for any chance. But Inkster seemed to tire, especially on the back, where she was two-over and finished with a 74 for sixth place.

Webb won six times, Inkster won five. Webb won one major, Inkster won two.

“Juli and I really deserve to win it together,” she said. “It’s hard to say this year that one person was player of the year. I think there are two.”

Webb birdied No. 15 and No. 18 to get into a playoff while Davies failed spectacularly at No. 15--a par five she should birdie in her sleep--and could do no better than par. Davies tried for the green from the rough and sent her ball far left on the other side of a cart path.

At least Davies had a chance in the playoff, which Lorie Kane did not. Kane was tied for the lead after three rounds, but was two shots out when she sent her second shot in the water on No. 15.

Pak’s day went a lot better. She allowed herself a moment of reflection about her second consecutive four-victory year.

“I cannot believe,” she said.

“Every year, four times win is pretty good, you know?”

And you know what that means. Let that off-season begin.