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| The Bradley Center, Milwaukee |
Baseball's long-term search for a new leader ended
with its old leader. Bud's still the one. The only one.
After six years without a commissioner, the sport will finally elect one Thursday, and the lone candidate is the man who said early and often that he didn't want the job -- Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig.
"I really meant that," Selig said as he prepared to travel to tonight's All-Star game. "I love what I was doing. Many had said to me they wanted me to stay in some capacity. We argued. The rest is history."
So Allan Huber Selig won't be acting commissioner for life, after all.
His detractors say he's indecisive.
His supporters say he's not impulsive.
Having watched Bowie Kuhn, Peter Ueberroth and Fay Vincent enrage owners with controversial actions, and A. Bartlett Giamatti become bogged down with Pete Rose, Selig decided the best decisions are often no decisions. He preferred to wait for a consensus to develop. Sometimes, that meant problems festered and opportunities were lost.
"I don't accept that criticism," he said. "When you look back at the last five years, it's been the most active five years in baseball history."
Going into Thursday's meeting in Chicago, he was still avoiding direct questions regarding why he changed his mind about the job. It's clear, though, why owners want him.
Baseball, a most conservative sport, has been transformed from one-man rule to an owner-friendly consensus government during Selig's reign as chairman of the 10-man executive council. This group seized power following Vincent's forced resignation on Sept. 7, 1992 and installed Selig two days later.
Some of the highlights:
* For the first time since professional major leagues began in 1871, the sport adopted regular-season interleague play, which began last year.
* Each league split into three divisions, wild-card teams were added to the postseason and an extra round of playoffs began in 1995.
* Selig's Brewers began the first major league team this century to switch leagues, moving to the NL this season.
* After years of contentious debate, large-market teams agreed to share a higher percentage of their local revenue with the small markets.
Some of the lowlights:
* A catastrophic 230-day strike by players that wiped out the final 669 games of the 1994 season, led to the first cancellation of the World Series in 90 years and shortened the '95 season by 252 games.
* A 20 percent drop in attendance from 31,612 per game in 1994 to 25,260 in 1995. The average this year probably will be around 28,750, still 9 percent blew its prestrike level.
* An operating loss of more than $850 million from 1994-96.
Given those negatives, why Selig?
Because he listens, often spending 12 hours a day talking to owners on the telephone.
And because there are no surprises with him. By the time he takes action, every owner knows what he's going to do and an overwhelming majority backs him. If there's more than token opposition, he waits.
"These issues are contentious," he said. "The stakes today are clearly higher than they've ever been. You're better off trying to develop an understanding in people, so when you get to a meeting, they understand the issue. I understand it when people say it takes too long -- I'm an impatient person myself. But times are different. People have a lot at stake. For people to think you can come in and arbitrarily make a decision -- you can't."
Selig, who turns 68 later this month, received most of his business training in his family's auto leasing service. A minority owner of the Milwaukee Braves, he led a group that bought the Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court just before the 1970 season and moved them to Milwaukee, where they became the Brewers.
Just 35, he was the youngest owner in baseball. Under the tutelage of former Detroit Tigers owner John Fetzer, Selig served on every important ownership committee, heading labor negotiations in 1985 and 1990 and the commissioner searches that led to Ueberroth in 1984 and A. Bartlett Giamatti five years later.
He groomed one of his two daughters from his first marriage, Wendy Selig-Prieb, to succeed him as head of the Brewers and she's been in charge of most operations for five years. Some baseball insiders joked that he waited for Wendy to have her first child -- a daughter born in May -- before becoming commissioner so Brewers' stock could be put in trust for his granddaughter.
"I think that Bud has done an incredibly good job navigating baseball through tough times," said Ueberroth, who has tended to praise Selig while condemning the owners as a whole. "He'll be recognized one day by the Hall of Fame for his efforts."
Selig's college roommate was Herb Kohl, owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin. Maybe that's where the politician in him comes from. Senators seem stymied when Selig dodges and equivocates before congressional committees.
"He's missed his calling," Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said. "He should be the Senate majority leader."
Reinsdorf has discussed voting against Selig for commissioner, telling others he thinks a non-owner should have the job. One or two other teams also have thought about opposing him, but the majority of the group has refused to consider anyone else, comfortable Selig won't do anything rash.
"I've grown up in the business, been at it now over 30 years," he said. "They've been able to observe me close up and under very tough situations -- and good situations. You learn about people in tough and trying times."
The Bud Selig Story:
PROFILE
* Name: Allan Huber "Bud" Selig.
* Born: July 30, 1934, Milwaukee.
* Education: B.A., University of Wisconsin.
* Baseball history: Bought stock in Milwaukee Braves in 1963; headed group that purchased Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court on April 1, 1970, and moved the team to Milwaukee, where it became the Brewers.
* Biggest tasks: Headed commissioner search committees that recommended Peter Ueberroth, who took office on Oct. 1, 1984, and A. Bartlett Giamatti, who took office on April 1, 1989. Chairman of owners' Player Relations Committee during labor negotiations in 1985 and 1990.
* Executive council: Appointed chairman on Sept. 9, 1992, two days after the resignation of Fay Vincent.
* Family: Married (Sue). Two daughters from first marriage, Wendy Selig-Prieb, executive vice president of Brewers; and Sari Markenson, who works in Selig's auto-leasing company.
* Interests: Contemporary art collecting, including Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein.
* Athletic activities: Rides exercise bike 45 minutes per day.
* Other business: Owns auto-leasing company and deli in Milwaukee. A director of the Green Bay Packers.
HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS
Highlights and lowlights of Bud Selig's term as acting commissioner of baseball, beginning Sept. 9, 1992:
* Feb. 3, 1993 -- Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott suspended for remainder of season and fined $25,000 for bringing "disrepute and embarrassment" to baseball with racial and ethnic slurs.
* Sept. 9, 1993 -- Owners vote to split each league into three divisions starting in 1994, adding a wild-card team from each league to the postseason and starting an extra round of playoffs.
* Jan. 19, 1994 -- Owners approve large increase in revenue sharing, but tie it to players agreeing to a salary cap.
* Feb. 11, 1994 -- Owners sharply curtail the commissioner's power to act in the "best interests of baseball."
* Aug. 12, 1994-March 31, 1995 -- A players strike cancels the final 669 games of the 1994 season, wipes out the World Series for the first time in 90 years and cancels the first 252 games of the 1995 season. The strike, caused by management's demand for a salary cap, led to a 20 percent drop in attendance in 1995 and $850 million in operating losses from 1994-96.
* Jan. 19, 1996 -- Owners adopt interleague play starting with the 1997 season.
* June 12, 1996-end of 1998 season -- Schott forced to give up day-to-day control of team after additional inflammatory remarks offend blacks, women and Jews.
* Nov. 26, 1996 -- Owners approve collective bargaining agreement through 2000, with union option for 2001. Approval triggers the start of revenue sharing. Instead of a salary cap, owners got a luxury tax that has only slightly slowed salary escalation.
* May 13, 1997-April 30, 1998 -- New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner suspended from executive council for suing baseball, along with Adidas, in a dispute over marketing rights. Steinbrenner eventually drops suit as part of an agreement in which Adidas became a baseball licensee.
* Nov. 5, 1997 -- Selig's team, the Milwaukee Brewers, become the first major league club this century to switch leagues, moving to the NL for the 1998 season.
QUOTATIONS
* On how long he'd be acting commissioner and whether he wanted the job permanently: "I hope it's relatively short term, but if you ask me what short term is, I don't know." -- Sept. 9, 1992.
* "I have no permanent interest in this job. I have many other things in life I want to do." -- Jan. 16, 1994.
* "It had become clear that a large number of owners were not ready to elect a new commissioner. ... I'm not sure how long this is. I'm not going to sit here and predict. I don't know." -- Jan. 19, 1994.
* "All I'll say is I haven't changed my mind since Sept. 9, 1992." -- July 23, 1997. $00:9800008777: $199:A9800008777 $01:Copyright 1998 The Columbian Publishing Co. $02:$?
The Columbian $20:July 7, 1998, Tuesday $30:Sports; Pg. d1 $60:PAK PREVAILS IN U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN PLAYOFF $90:ARNIE STAPLETON, Associated Press writer $100:golf $120:
KOHLER, Wis. -- Had she won, amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn was going to jump in the water. She even encouraged Se Ri Pak to do it.
But the youngest winner in the longest U.S. Women's Open already had enough experience in the water at No. 18, where she had to get both feet wet hitting her second shot.
And Pak already believed she let her guard down far enough.
"First time I cry in my life," the 20-year-old South Korean said after her long birdie putt on the 20th hole put away Chuasiriporn in the first sudden death of this event.
Impervious to pressure through 92 holes, Pak was a bundle of emotions when the tournament finally ended after five hours on the rugged Blackwolf Run Golf Course.
But taking a dunk was a bit too much.
"I told her to jump in the water, but she wouldn't," Chuasiriporn said. "I told her she had to. She said, "No, I can't do it.'
"I was going to, though."
What Pak did do was pump her right fist, then hold it high, along with the putter in her left hand. Then she searched the crowd for her father, Joon-Chul. As he raced across the green to meet her, she jumped into his arms. That's when she cracked -- a smile, then tears.
"I didn't give up, I just kept playing my game," said Pak, who had to take off her shoes and hit out of the pond on the 18th hole. Both players bogeyed that hole to force the sudden death.
Pak remained stoic and businesslike even as the 20-year-old Chuasiriporn, whose passionate and expressive play is reminiscent of Nancy Lopez, grabbed a 4-stroke lead after five holes.
The twosome was tied at 2-over 73 after 18 holes; it was the first time in the 53 years of this event it went to sudden death.
Chuasiriporn, who made a riveting 40-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to force the 18-hole playoff, barely missed a 10-foot putt for par on the same hole Monday that would have made her the first amateur U.S. Open champion since 1967.
"I guess I really feel like I am going to win one," Chuasiriporn said. "So I am really not too disappointed."
Pak, who won the LPGA Championship in May, became the first rookie to win two majors since Juli Inkster captured the Nabisco Dinah Shore and du Maurier Ltd. Classic in 1984.
Pak, who didn't take the lead until the 14th hole, overcame the early 4-stroke deficit thanks to a triple-bogey by Chuasiriporn on No. 6.
"Blackwolf Run got me," Chuasiriporn said of the unyielding Pete Dye-designed course where only one golfer broke par after Friday.
Chuasiriporn, a Thai-American from Maryland who is entering her senior year at Duke, was trying to become only the second amateur to win the Women's Open, joining Catherine LaCoste, who won it at age 22 in 1967.
On Sunday, Pak was awarded the first-place check of $267,500 because amateurs are ineligible to collect prize money. All that was at stake Monday was the trophy -- and a jump in the water.
Before Pak, LaCoste was the youngest woman to win an Open. The last woman to win consecutive majors was Meg Mallon in 1991.
The sudden death playoff came after high drama on No. 18, where both golfers bogeyed the par-4, 421-yard hole.
Pak's tee shots were true all day until she hooked one toward the water on 18, the ball landing in the rough on a steep slope. Her caddie, Jeff Cable, had to help her so that she didn't slip into the water as she took a look.
After conferring with a tournament official, Pak decided not to take a drop. Instead, she took off her spikes and socks and stepped into the calf-deep water, took an A-wedge and pitched the ball into the rough on the other side of the fairway.
"I didn't know how I was going to get of there," Pak said. "I just played my game."
Chuasiriporn, who munched on Power Bars while waiting, didn't think for a minute that the unflappable Pak was trapped.
"I knew she was going to be on the green for par," Chuasiriporn said. "And I knew she was going to probably be close because she is a really good pressure player. I really didn't think it was over then."
Sure enough, Pak hit a 148-yard shot onto the green, about 15 feet from the hole.
Chuasiriporn's chip for a birdie from the rough was way too hard and ended up 10 feet past the hole.
Pak's putt for par was short, leaving Chuasiriporn, who had parred 10 through 17, with a chance to win it all. But the ball went past by less than an inch, and her tap-in for bogey sent the twosome back to the 564-yard, par-5 10th hole for sudden death.
"I thought I had that putt," Chuasiriporn said. "But my hands were shaking a lot."
At No. 10, they each parred with tap-in putts.
And it was off to the 374-yard, par-4 11th, where Chuasiriporn missed a 20-foot birdie putt, then watched Pak make an 18-footer for the win on the tournament's 92nd hole.
"You have to jump in the water!" Chuasiriporn told Pak. "I just need to see that."
Maybe she'll get to take that dip herself someday
After six years without a commissioner, the sport will finally elect one Thursday, and the lone candidate is the man who said early and often that he didn't want the job -- Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig.
"I really meant that," Selig said as he prepared to travel to tonight's All-Star game. "I love what I was doing. Many had said to me they wanted me to stay in some capacity. We argued. The rest is history."
So Allan Huber Selig won't be acting commissioner for life, after all.
His detractors say he's indecisive.
His supporters say he's not impulsive.
Having watched Bowie Kuhn, Peter Ueberroth and Fay Vincent enrage owners with controversial actions, and A. Bartlett Giamatti become bogged down with Pete Rose, Selig decided the best decisions are often no decisions. He preferred to wait for a consensus to develop. Sometimes, that meant problems festered and opportunities were lost.
"I don't accept that criticism," he said. "When you look back at the last five years, it's been the most active five years in baseball history."
Going into Thursday's meeting in Chicago, he was still avoiding direct questions regarding why he changed his mind about the job. It's clear, though, why owners want him.
Baseball, a most conservative sport, has been transformed from one-man rule to an owner-friendly consensus government during Selig's reign as chairman of the 10-man executive council. This group seized power following Vincent's forced resignation on Sept. 7, 1992 and installed Selig two days later.
Some of the highlights:
* For the first time since professional major leagues began in 1871, the sport adopted regular-season interleague play, which began last year.
* Each league split into three divisions, wild-card teams were added to the postseason and an extra round of playoffs began in 1995.
* Selig's Brewers began the first major league team this century to switch leagues, moving to the NL this season.
* After years of contentious debate, large-market teams agreed to share a higher percentage of their local revenue with the small markets.
Some of the lowlights:
* A catastrophic 230-day strike by players that wiped out the final 669 games of the 1994 season, led to the first cancellation of the World Series in 90 years and shortened the '95 season by 252 games.
* A 20 percent drop in attendance from 31,612 per game in 1994 to 25,260 in 1995. The average this year probably will be around 28,750, still 9 percent blew its prestrike level.
* An operating loss of more than $850 million from 1994-96.
Given those negatives, why Selig?
Because he listens, often spending 12 hours a day talking to owners on the telephone.
And because there are no surprises with him. By the time he takes action, every owner knows what he's going to do and an overwhelming majority backs him. If there's more than token opposition, he waits.
"These issues are contentious," he said. "The stakes today are clearly higher than they've ever been. You're better off trying to develop an understanding in people, so when you get to a meeting, they understand the issue. I understand it when people say it takes too long -- I'm an impatient person myself. But times are different. People have a lot at stake. For people to think you can come in and arbitrarily make a decision -- you can't."
Selig, who turns 68 later this month, received most of his business training in his family's auto leasing service. A minority owner of the Milwaukee Braves, he led a group that bought the Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court just before the 1970 season and moved them to Milwaukee, where they became the Brewers.
Just 35, he was the youngest owner in baseball. Under the tutelage of former Detroit Tigers owner John Fetzer, Selig served on every important ownership committee, heading labor negotiations in 1985 and 1990 and the commissioner searches that led to Ueberroth in 1984 and A. Bartlett Giamatti five years later.
He groomed one of his two daughters from his first marriage, Wendy Selig-Prieb, to succeed him as head of the Brewers and she's been in charge of most operations for five years. Some baseball insiders joked that he waited for Wendy to have her first child -- a daughter born in May -- before becoming commissioner so Brewers' stock could be put in trust for his granddaughter.
"I think that Bud has done an incredibly good job navigating baseball through tough times," said Ueberroth, who has tended to praise Selig while condemning the owners as a whole. "He'll be recognized one day by the Hall of Fame for his efforts."
Selig's college roommate was Herb Kohl, owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin. Maybe that's where the politician in him comes from. Senators seem stymied when Selig dodges and equivocates before congressional committees.
"He's missed his calling," Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said. "He should be the Senate majority leader."
Reinsdorf has discussed voting against Selig for commissioner, telling others he thinks a non-owner should have the job. One or two other teams also have thought about opposing him, but the majority of the group has refused to consider anyone else, comfortable Selig won't do anything rash.
"I've grown up in the business, been at it now over 30 years," he said. "They've been able to observe me close up and under very tough situations -- and good situations. You learn about people in tough and trying times."
The Bud Selig Story:
PROFILE
* Name: Allan Huber "Bud" Selig.
* Born: July 30, 1934, Milwaukee.
* Education: B.A., University of Wisconsin.
* Baseball history: Bought stock in Milwaukee Braves in 1963; headed group that purchased Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court on April 1, 1970, and moved the team to Milwaukee, where it became the Brewers.
* Biggest tasks: Headed commissioner search committees that recommended Peter Ueberroth, who took office on Oct. 1, 1984, and A. Bartlett Giamatti, who took office on April 1, 1989. Chairman of owners' Player Relations Committee during labor negotiations in 1985 and 1990.
* Executive council: Appointed chairman on Sept. 9, 1992, two days after the resignation of Fay Vincent.
* Family: Married (Sue). Two daughters from first marriage, Wendy Selig-Prieb, executive vice president of Brewers; and Sari Markenson, who works in Selig's auto-leasing company.
* Interests: Contemporary art collecting, including Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein.
* Athletic activities: Rides exercise bike 45 minutes per day.
* Other business: Owns auto-leasing company and deli in Milwaukee. A director of the Green Bay Packers.
HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS
Highlights and lowlights of Bud Selig's term as acting commissioner of baseball, beginning Sept. 9, 1992:
* Feb. 3, 1993 -- Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott suspended for remainder of season and fined $25,000 for bringing "disrepute and embarrassment" to baseball with racial and ethnic slurs.
* Sept. 9, 1993 -- Owners vote to split each league into three divisions starting in 1994, adding a wild-card team from each league to the postseason and starting an extra round of playoffs.
* Jan. 19, 1994 -- Owners approve large increase in revenue sharing, but tie it to players agreeing to a salary cap.
* Feb. 11, 1994 -- Owners sharply curtail the commissioner's power to act in the "best interests of baseball."
* Aug. 12, 1994-March 31, 1995 -- A players strike cancels the final 669 games of the 1994 season, wipes out the World Series for the first time in 90 years and cancels the first 252 games of the 1995 season. The strike, caused by management's demand for a salary cap, led to a 20 percent drop in attendance in 1995 and $850 million in operating losses from 1994-96.
* Jan. 19, 1996 -- Owners adopt interleague play starting with the 1997 season.
* June 12, 1996-end of 1998 season -- Schott forced to give up day-to-day control of team after additional inflammatory remarks offend blacks, women and Jews.
* Nov. 26, 1996 -- Owners approve collective bargaining agreement through 2000, with union option for 2001. Approval triggers the start of revenue sharing. Instead of a salary cap, owners got a luxury tax that has only slightly slowed salary escalation.
* May 13, 1997-April 30, 1998 -- New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner suspended from executive council for suing baseball, along with Adidas, in a dispute over marketing rights. Steinbrenner eventually drops suit as part of an agreement in which Adidas became a baseball licensee.
* Nov. 5, 1997 -- Selig's team, the Milwaukee Brewers, become the first major league club this century to switch leagues, moving to the NL for the 1998 season.
QUOTATIONS
* On how long he'd be acting commissioner and whether he wanted the job permanently: "I hope it's relatively short term, but if you ask me what short term is, I don't know." -- Sept. 9, 1992.
* "I have no permanent interest in this job. I have many other things in life I want to do." -- Jan. 16, 1994.
* "It had become clear that a large number of owners were not ready to elect a new commissioner. ... I'm not sure how long this is. I'm not going to sit here and predict. I don't know." -- Jan. 19, 1994.
* "All I'll say is I haven't changed my mind since Sept. 9, 1992." -- July 23, 1997. $00:9800008777: $199:A9800008777 $01:Copyright 1998 The Columbian Publishing Co. $02:$?
The Columbian $20:July 7, 1998, Tuesday $30:Sports; Pg. d1 $60:PAK PREVAILS IN U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN PLAYOFF $90:ARNIE STAPLETON, Associated Press writer $100:golf $120:
KOHLER, Wis. -- Had she won, amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn was going to jump in the water. She even encouraged Se Ri Pak to do it.
But the youngest winner in the longest U.S. Women's Open already had enough experience in the water at No. 18, where she had to get both feet wet hitting her second shot.
And Pak already believed she let her guard down far enough.
"First time I cry in my life," the 20-year-old South Korean said after her long birdie putt on the 20th hole put away Chuasiriporn in the first sudden death of this event.
Impervious to pressure through 92 holes, Pak was a bundle of emotions when the tournament finally ended after five hours on the rugged Blackwolf Run Golf Course.
But taking a dunk was a bit too much.
"I told her to jump in the water, but she wouldn't," Chuasiriporn said. "I told her she had to. She said, "No, I can't do it.'
"I was going to, though."
What Pak did do was pump her right fist, then hold it high, along with the putter in her left hand. Then she searched the crowd for her father, Joon-Chul. As he raced across the green to meet her, she jumped into his arms. That's when she cracked -- a smile, then tears.
"I didn't give up, I just kept playing my game," said Pak, who had to take off her shoes and hit out of the pond on the 18th hole. Both players bogeyed that hole to force the sudden death.
Pak remained stoic and businesslike even as the 20-year-old Chuasiriporn, whose passionate and expressive play is reminiscent of Nancy Lopez, grabbed a 4-stroke lead after five holes.
The twosome was tied at 2-over 73 after 18 holes; it was the first time in the 53 years of this event it went to sudden death.
Chuasiriporn, who made a riveting 40-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to force the 18-hole playoff, barely missed a 10-foot putt for par on the same hole Monday that would have made her the first amateur U.S. Open champion since 1967.
"I guess I really feel like I am going to win one," Chuasiriporn said. "So I am really not too disappointed."
Pak, who won the LPGA Championship in May, became the first rookie to win two majors since Juli Inkster captured the Nabisco Dinah Shore and du Maurier Ltd. Classic in 1984.
Pak, who didn't take the lead until the 14th hole, overcame the early 4-stroke deficit thanks to a triple-bogey by Chuasiriporn on No. 6.
"Blackwolf Run got me," Chuasiriporn said of the unyielding Pete Dye-designed course where only one golfer broke par after Friday.
Chuasiriporn, a Thai-American from Maryland who is entering her senior year at Duke, was trying to become only the second amateur to win the Women's Open, joining Catherine LaCoste, who won it at age 22 in 1967.
On Sunday, Pak was awarded the first-place check of $267,500 because amateurs are ineligible to collect prize money. All that was at stake Monday was the trophy -- and a jump in the water.
Before Pak, LaCoste was the youngest woman to win an Open. The last woman to win consecutive majors was Meg Mallon in 1991.
The sudden death playoff came after high drama on No. 18, where both golfers bogeyed the par-4, 421-yard hole.
Pak's tee shots were true all day until she hooked one toward the water on 18, the ball landing in the rough on a steep slope. Her caddie, Jeff Cable, had to help her so that she didn't slip into the water as she took a look.
After conferring with a tournament official, Pak decided not to take a drop. Instead, she took off her spikes and socks and stepped into the calf-deep water, took an A-wedge and pitched the ball into the rough on the other side of the fairway.
"I didn't know how I was going to get of there," Pak said. "I just played my game."
Chuasiriporn, who munched on Power Bars while waiting, didn't think for a minute that the unflappable Pak was trapped.
"I knew she was going to be on the green for par," Chuasiriporn said. "And I knew she was going to probably be close because she is a really good pressure player. I really didn't think it was over then."
Sure enough, Pak hit a 148-yard shot onto the green, about 15 feet from the hole.
Chuasiriporn's chip for a birdie from the rough was way too hard and ended up 10 feet past the hole.
Pak's putt for par was short, leaving Chuasiriporn, who had parred 10 through 17, with a chance to win it all. But the ball went past by less than an inch, and her tap-in for bogey sent the twosome back to the 564-yard, par-5 10th hole for sudden death.
"I thought I had that putt," Chuasiriporn said. "But my hands were shaking a lot."
At No. 10, they each parred with tap-in putts.
And it was off to the 374-yard, par-4 11th, where Chuasiriporn missed a 20-foot birdie putt, then watched Pak make an 18-footer for the win on the tournament's 92nd hole.
"You have to jump in the water!" Chuasiriporn told Pak. "I just need to see that."
Maybe she'll get to take that dip herself someday
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