Pak Se-ri is leaving the LPGA Tour at the end of the season. Pak hopes she can continue to inspire and mentor South Korean players for generations to come. "It's pretty hard to make decision to be retiring, but it's a time for me to be," Pak said. "At the same time, I learned a lot and I'm trying to share all my skills and all these dreams. So that's where I plan to be the next step of my life. I just want to make dreams come true." The 38-year-old Hall of Famer broke the news Thursday after an opening 3-under 69 in the JTBC Founders Cup, her first event in nine months. Hampered by left shoulder problems, she made only eight starts last year. "It's been hard to see her hurt, to see her feeling some stress after rounds," fellow South Korean player Na Yeon Choi said. "You wish she could play like she did before." Pak has won 25 LPGA Tour titles and five majors, two of them during a rookie season in 1998 that gave women's golf its biggest boost since Nancy Lopez. She was the youngest player to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame when she was enshrined in 2007 at age 30. Day leads at Bay Hill In Miami, Jason Day crowned a brilliant back nine with an eagle at the 16th to seize a one-stroke lead with a six-under-par 66 in Thursday's opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida. The Australian world No. 3 powered a six-iron from 197 yards away to 10 feet and rolled in the putt for an eagle-three on the par-five, posting a five-under 31 on the back nine on a warm, sunny day at Bay Hill. The blazing finish by the reigning PGA Championship winner vaulted him ahead of an impressive group at five-under that included compatriots Adam Scott and Marc Leishman, Sweden's Henrik Stenson and Americans Brendan Steele and Troy Merritt. Ten players were bunched two strokes off the pace after shooting four-under rounds of 68, including former US Open champion Justin Rose, fellow Briton Paul Casey, Italy's Francesco Molinari and KJ Choi of South Korea. Two-time defending champion Matt Every shot a one-under 71, while world No. 2 Rory McIlroy was tied for 107th in the 120-man field after a three-over 75. Lee fires 62 In Los Angeles, South Korea's Lee Mi-Hyang fired a tournament-record 10-under par 62 to seize a one-stroke lead after Thursday's opening round of the Founders Cup. The 22-year-old from Seoul made her historic run as another South Korean legend Pak Se-ri announced her retirement after this season. Lee began on the back nine at Phoenix, Arizona, and fired a 27, making seven birdies and an eagle to make the turn with a share of the lead. But Lee made only one birdie and eight pars on the front side, her second nine of the day, to miss a chance at a record-tying 59. American Brittany Lang and South Korean Kim Sei-Young shared second on 63 with Italy's Giulia Sergas another stroke adrift. Swedish star Annika Sorenstam fired the only 59 in LPGA history, shooting the 13-under score in the second round of the 2001 Standard Register PING tournament at Moon Valley Country Club, also in Phoenix. World No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand opened with a 70, eight strokes off the pace.
