Pak Se-ri made her first appearance at Lytham St. Annes as a rookie who had already won two majors.
The howling gales virtually blew her game apart.
But she admitted on Friday -- lying second and two shots behind leader Heather Bowie at the Women's British Open -- that her experience four years ago made a better all-round player.
"This was wholly different from '98. I have very bad memories of that time," said the South Korean who tied for 34th on her first visit five years ago after three rounds in the high 70s. She wound up with a 20-over 308.
"It was the first time I had ever played a links course," she recalled. "Everything -- conditions, weather, food -- gave me a hard time. My dad said `you're not going to come back here anymore."
"After that, I learned a lot about my game and became much smarter. Now I know I can use all 14 clubs," the South Korean star said after her second 69 gave her a halfway score of 138.
"I never felt before I came here that I can use 14 clubs. All I needed to do was hit it straight, make it spin a lot on the green and make some putts. That's the way I'm pretty used to it.
"And now here, you can use putter to driver. You can use every single club."
Pak, who now has a collection of four majors including the British Open two years ago at Sunningdale, sought to make up Bowie's two stroke advantage at the same Lytham links on Saturday, the American having fired a 6-under 66 for a halfway score of 136.
Bowie is bidding to make her first LPGA Tour victory a major in the same way Hilary Lunke won the US Open at Pumpkin Ridge a month ago.
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