Inbee Park

The native form of this personal name is Park Inbee. This article uses the Western name order.
Inbee Park
박인비
 Golfer 

Personal information
Born (1988-07-12) 12 July 1988
Seoul, South Korea
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Nationality  South Korea
Residence Murrieta, California, U.S.[1]
Career
College Kwangwoon University
Turned professional 2006
Current tour(s) LPGA Tour (joined 2007)
Former tour(s) Futures Tour (2006)
Professional wins 26
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour 17
Ladies European Tour 3
LPGA of Japan Tour 4
Other 4
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 7)
ANA Inspiration Won: 2013
Women's PGA C'ship Won: 2013, 2014, 2015
U.S. Women's Open Won: 2008, 2013
Women's British Open Won: 2015
Evian Championship T8: 2015
Achievements and awards
LPGA Vare Trophy 2012, 2015
LPGA Tour
Money Winner
2012, 2013
LPGA Player of the Year 2013
GWAA Female
Player of the Year
2013
Medal record
Representing  South Korea
Women's Golf
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro Individual
Inbee Park
Hangul 박인비
Hanja 朴仁妃
Revised Romanization Bak Inbi
McCune–Reischauer Pak Inbi

Inbee Park (Hangul: 박인비; Hanja: 朴仁妃, pronounced [paːk inbi]; born 12 July 1988) is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. From 15 April 2013 to 1 June 2014, she was the number one ranked player in the Women's World Golf Rankings.[2] She regained the top spot in October 2014.[3]

Park has won seven major championships in her career, including three consecutive major wins during the 2013 season, becoming only the fourth LPGA Tour player to win three majors in a calendar year. She is the youngest player to win the U.S. Women's Open and the second player, after Annika Sorenstam, to win the Women's PGA Championship three years in a row. Park is only the seventh player to win four different majors during her career and capture a career Grand Slam. In 2016, she won the first Olympic gold medal since 1900 in the women's individual tournament.

Early life and amateur career

Park was born in Seoul. She began playing golf at the age of 10. Two years later, at age 12, she moved to the United States to pursue a golf career.[4] She won nine events on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit and was a five-time Rolex Junior All-American. She was a semifinalist at the 2003 U.S. Women's Amateur. She won the 2002 U.S. Girls' Junior and finished as runner-up in both 2003 and 2005.

While an amateur from 2004 through 2006, Park played in the Kraft Nabisco Championship as a sponsor invite and in the LPGA Takefuji Classic three times, recording two top-10 finishes.

Park graduated from Kwangwoon University in Seoul, Korea.

Professional career

2006

In 2006, after graduating from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, Park appealed to the LPGA for permission to attempt to qualify for the LPGA as a 17-year-old. LPGA rules generally require that a player be 18 to join the Tour. The LPGA denied Park's request, so she enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas but soon after dropped out and turned professional, playing on the Duramed Futures Tour where the age of entry had been lowered to 17 in late January.[5][6] In 2006, she recorded 11 top-10 finishes on the Futures Tour. She finished third on its season-ending money list to earn exempt status on the LPGA Tour for the 2007 season.

2007

During her rookie season in 2007, Park tied for fourth at the U.S. Women's Open and tied for second at the Safeway Classic. She finished 37th on the money list and fourth in the rookie of the year standings. In 2007, Park also changed the English spelling of her name from In-Bee to Inbee.[7]

2008

In 2008, Park won the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club in Minnesota for her first LPGA win. At 19, she was the youngest player to win the title, and finished four strokes ahead of runner-up Helen Alfredsson.

2009–12

After her breakout year in 2008, Park struggled in 2009, recording only four top-10 finishes and ending the season 50th on the LPGA official money list.

In 2010, Park had top-10 finishes in all four major tournaments, won twice on the LPGA of Japan Tour and finished the season ranked 12th in the world rankings.[8]

Park's results in 2011 did not match those of the previous years. With no top-five finishes on the LPGA Tour, she sunk to 31st on the official money list and 27th in scoring average. She won once on the JLPGA Tour, at the Daikin Orchid Ladies.

Park bounced back from her 2011 slump in 2012. She had two wins on the LPGA Tour, finished in the top-three in 10 out of 23 tournaments she played, and topped the LPGA in both money earned and scoring average.

2013

Park won her fourth LPGA Tour event in the second tournament of the year at the Honda LPGA Thailand event by a single stroke. She shot a final round 67 to come from four back to finish a shot ahead of Ariya Jutanugarn.

In April, Park won her second major title with a four-stroke victory at the Kraft Nabisco Championship over compatriot Ryu So-Yeon. The following week, she became the top ranked golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings.

Park won her sixth LPGA Tour title and third of the year a couple weeks later at the North Texas LPGA Shootout. She holed a four foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to edge out Carlota Ciganda by a stroke.

In June, Park won her second consecutive major of the year and third career major at the LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club. After a 36-hole final day of regulation play, Park defeated Catriona Matthew on the third sudden-death playoff hole to clinch the victory. She started the third round a shot ahead of Morgan Pressel. Park became the seventh player in LPGA Tour history to win the year's opening two major championships.[9]

Two weeks later, Park won her fifth title of the season at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship when she defeated compatriot Ryu So-Yeon in a sudden-death playoff.

The following week, Park won her third consecutive major championship of the year and fourth career major at the U.S. Women's Open. The third consecutive major to start the season is a mark matched only by Babe Zaharias in 1950 when she won that season's only three majors.[10] The victory was also the third consecutive for Park, a feat last accomplished on the LPGA Tour in 2008 by Lorena Ochoa when she won four consecutive tournaments. The victory was also her sixth championship overall in 2013.

2014

In March, Park won the Mission Hills World Ladies Championship, an event on the Ladies European Tour. She won the event by five strokes over defending champion Suzann Pettersen. She also won the events team portion with fellow South Korean, Ryu So-Yeon. They won by twenty-eight strokes combined over the Chinese duo of Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin. The team victory was her second at the event, as Park and teammate Kim Ha-Neul won the previous year.

In June, Park won her tenth title on the LPGA Tour when she grabbed victory at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic. She won the event by three strokes over Cristie Kerr. The victory was the first on Tour for Park in almost a year when she won at the U.S. Women's Open.

In August, Park won her eleventh title on the LPGA Tour and her fifth major championships when she won the LPGA Championship in a sudden-death playoff over Brittany Lincicome. Park defeated Lincicome on the first extra hole with a par for her second consecutive LPGA Championship title.

2015

Park won her 13th LPGA title in the first week of March. She shot a 66 in round one of the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore and went wire-to-wire to win the championship. After shooting a bogey-free 65 in the final round of the Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi, she shot four straight bogey-free rounds in Singapore. Park, the world No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings, was paired with World No. 1 Lydia Ko and World No. 3 Stacy Lewis in the final round. Park had a two-shot lead heading into the final round and finished at 15-under-par with a final round 70. Ko finished two strokes behind Park.

Park won her 14th LPGA title at the Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout. She shot a bogey-free six-under 65 in the final round to defeat Cristie Kerr of the United States and Park Hee-Young of South Korea by three strokes.[11]

In June, Park won her 15th title on the LPGA Tour and her sixth major championship when she won the Women's PGA Championship, five strokes ahead of runner-up Kim Sei-young. The victory made Park only the second player after Annika Sörenstam to achieve the feat of winning three consecutive Women's PGA Championships (formerly known as the LPGA Championship).

Park won her 16th title on the LPGA Tour at the Women's British Open, three strokes ahead of runner-up Ko Jin-young. It was her seventh major title and Park became the seventh player in history to win four different majors, completing a career Grand Slam (per the LPGA Tour policies regarding a career Grand Slam).[12]

Park went on to win for the fifth and final time in 2015 on 15 November, after a final round 64 at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. She beat Carlota Ciganda by three strokes. The win was Park's 17th on the LPGA Tour. The following week a strong performance at the season's final event, Park would win her second career Vare Trophy (2012 her first) for the lowest scoring average for the season. The Vare Trophy accomplishment also put Park on the threshold for induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame. The trophy giving her the 27 points required for induction. Park will now have to finish the required ten seasons of play, a mark she is slated to meet in 2016.

2016

Park became eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame after competing in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. At 27, she is the youngest player to qualify.[13]

In August, Park became the first woman in 116 years to win an Olympic gold medal in golf, defeating world number 1 Lydia Ko by five strokes. This was one of the first Olympic gold medals given out in golf since the 1904 Summer Olympics.

Professional wins (27)

LPGA Tour wins (17)

Legend
Major championships (7)
Other LPGA Tour (10)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
1 29 Jun 2008 U.S. Women's Open 72-69-71-71=283 −9 4 strokes Sweden Helen Alfredsson 585,000
2 29 Jul 2012 Evian Masters 71-64-70-66=271 −17 2 strokes United States Stacy Lewis
Australia Karrie Webb
487,500
3 14 Oct 2012 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 69-68-65-67=269 −15 2 strokes South Korea Choi Na-Yeon 285,000
4 24 Feb 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand 67-71-71-67=276 −12 1 stroke Thailand Ariya Jutanugarn 225,000
5 7 Apr 2013 Kraft Nabisco Championship 70-67-67-69=273 −15 4 strokes South Korea Ryu So-Yeon 300,000
6 28 Apr 2013 North Texas LPGA Shootout 67-70-67-67=271 −13 1 stroke Spain Carlota Ciganda 195,000
7 9 Jun 2013 Wegmans LPGA Championship 72-68-68-75=283 −5 Playoff Scotland Catriona Matthew 337,500
8 23 Jun 2013 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship 69-65-67=201 −12 Playoff South Korea Ryu So-Yeon 300,000
9 30 Jun 2013 U.S. Women's Open (2) 67-68-71-74=280 −8 4 strokes South Korea In-Kyung Kim 585,000
10 8 Jun 2014 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic 69-66-65-61=261 −23 3 strokes United States Cristie Kerr 225,000
11 17 Aug 2014 Wegmans LPGA Championship (2) 72-66-69-70=277 −11 Playoff United States Brittany Lincicome 337,500
12 2 Nov 2014 Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship 64-62-69-71=266 −22 2 strokes United States Stacy Lewis 300,000
13 8 Mar 2015 HSBC Women's Champions 66-69-68-70=273 −15 2 strokes New Zealand Lydia Ko 210,000
14 3 May 2015 Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout (2) 69-66-69-65=269 −15 3 strokes United States Cristie Kerr
South Korea Hee Young Park
195,000
15 14 Jun 2015 KPMG Women's PGA Championship (3) 71-68-66-68=273 −19 5 strokes South Korea Kim Sei-young 525,000
16 2 Aug 2015 Ricoh Women's British Open 69-73-69-65=276 −12 3 strokes South Korea Ko Jin-young 464,817
17 15 Nov 2015 Lorena Ochoa Invitational 68-71-67-64=270 −18 3 strokes Spain Carlota Ciganda 200,000

LPGA Tour playoff record (3–3)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2012 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic South Korea Chella Choi
United States Brittany Lang
South Korea Hee Kyung Seo
Lang won with birdie on third extra hole
Park eliminated with birdie on second hole
Choi eliminated with birdie on first hole
2 2013 LPGA Championship Scotland Catriona Matthew Won with birdie on third extra hole
3 2013 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship South Korea Ryu So-Yeon Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2014 Meijer LPGA Classic South Korea Mirim Lee Lost to birdie on second extra hole
5 2014 LPGA Championship United States Brittany Lincicome Won with par on first extra hole
6 2015 LPGA Lotte Championship South Korea Kim Sei-young Lost to eagle on first extra hole

JLPGA Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 29 Jun 2010 Nishijin Ladies Classic 69-71-69=209 −7 Playoff Japan Chieko Amanuma
2 28 Nov 2010 Japan LPGA Tour Championship Ricoh Cup 72-72-70-73=287 −1 4 strokes South Korea Ahn Sun-ju
Japan Mika Miyazato
3 6 Mar 2011 Daikin Orchid Ladies 72-67-66=205 −11 3 strokes Japan Miki Saiki
4 13 May 2012 Fundokin Ladies 70-69-68=207 −9 2 strokes China Shanshan Feng

Ladies European Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 29 Jul 2012 Evian Masters 71-64-70-66=271 −17 2 strokes United States Stacy Lewis
Australia Karrie Webb
2 9 Mar 2014 Mission Hills World Ladies Championship (individual) 69-70-62-67=268 −24 5 strokes Norway Suzann Pettersen
3 2 Aug 2015 Ricoh Women's British Open 69-73-69-65=276 −12 3 strokes South Korea Ko Jin-young

Olympic Games (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 20 Aug 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil[14] 66-66-70-66=268 −16 5 strokes New Zealand Lydia Ko

Other wins (3)

Major championships

Wins (7)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2008 U.S. Women's Open 2 shot deficit −9 (72-69-71-71=283) 4 strokes Sweden Helen Alfredsson
2013 Kraft Nabisco Championship 3 shot lead −15 (70-67-67-69=273) 4 strokes South Korea Ryu So-Yeon
2013 LPGA Championship 1 shot lead −5 (72-68-68-75=283) Playoff1 Scotland Catriona Matthew
2013 U.S. Women's Open 4 shot lead −8 (67-68-71-74=280) 4 strokes South Korea In-Kyung Kim
2014 LPGA Championship 1 shot deficit −11 (72-66-69-70=277) Playoff2 United States Brittany Lincicome
2015 Women's PGA Championship 2 shot lead −19 (71-68-66-68=273) 5 strokes South Korea Kim Sei-young
2015 Ricoh Women's British Open 3 shot deficit −12 (69-73-69-65=276) 3 strokes South Korea Ko Jin-young

1Defeated Matthew at the third hole of a sudden-death playoff: Park (4-4-3) and Matthew (4-4-x).
2Defeated Lincicome at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff: Park (4) and Lincicome (5).

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
ANA Inspiration DNP DNP T62 DNP 9 T56 T10 T29 T26 1 38 T11 T6
Women's PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP T62 T46 T14 T7 T14 T9 1 1 1 CUT
U.S. Women's Open CUT DNP DNP T4 1 T26 T8 T6 T9 1 T43 T3 DNP
Women's British Open DNP DNP DNP T11 CUT T24 T9 T7 2 T42 4 1 DNP
The Evian Championship ^ T67 T10 T8 DNP

^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
T = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
ANA Inspiration 1 0 0 1 4 5 10 10
Women's PGA Championship 3 0 0 3 5 7 10 9
U.S. Women's Open 2 0 1 4 7 7 10 9
Women's British Open 1 1 0 3 5 7 9 8
The Evian Championship 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 3
Totals 7 1 1 11 23 28 42 39

LPGA Tour career summary

Year Tournaments
played
Cuts
made*
Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish
Earnings
($)
Money
list rank
Scoring
average
Scoring
rank
2004 2 1 0 0 0 1 T8 n/a n/a 72.60 n/a
2005 2 1 0 0 0 1 5 n/a n/a 71.00 n/a
2006 2 2 0 0 0 0 T35 n/a n/a 73.86 n/a
2007 26 18 0 1 0 2 T2 380,263 37 73.19 72
2008 26 22 1 0 1 7 1 1,138,370 8 71.78 26
2009 23 16 0 0 0 2 T5 271,303 50 72.55 67
2010 19 19 0 1 1 11 2 825,477 11 70.83 9
2011 16 15 0 0 0 3 T6 365,231 31 72.00 27
2012 24 23 2 6 1 12 1 2,287,080 1 70.21 1
2013 23 22 6 0 1 11 1 2,456,619 1 69.87 3
2014 23 22 3 2 4 17 1 2,226,641 2 69.68 2
2015 25 23 5 1 1 15 1 2,630,011 2 69.41 1
2016 10 5 0 1 0 2 2 253,381 69 72.19 76
Totals 221 189 17 12 9 84 1 12,834,376 7 n/a n/a

* Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.

Futures Tour summary

Year Tournaments
played
Cuts
made
Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish
Earnings
($)
Money
list rank
Scoring
average
Scoring
rank
2006 17 16 0 1 4 11 2 49,079 3 71.12 2

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

  Year   World
ranking
Source
2006 321 [16]
2007 70 [17]
2008 21 [18]
2009 42 [19]
2010 12 [20]
2011 23 [21]
2012 4 [22]
2013 1 [23]
2014 1 [24]
2015 2 [25]

Team appearances

Professional

See also

References

  1. Park Seeks Third Major Victory Of 2013
  2. "Rolex Rankings". Rolex Rankings. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  3. "Inbee Park to take over No. 1 spot". ESPN. Associated Press. 24 October 2014.
  4. Golfweek, Inbee Park finds her comfort zone on LPGA 30 August 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  5. "U.S. Women's Open Final Notes and Interviews". LPGA Tour. 29 June 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  6. "Duramed FUTURES Tour Lowers Minimum Age Requirement". Golf Business Wire. February 1, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  7. "Inbee Park Bio". Seoul Sisters. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  8. "Women's World Golf Rankings". Rolex Rankings. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  9. "Park claims third major title at LPGA Championship". LPGA. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  10. "Inbee Park claims historic win". ESPN. Associated Press. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  11. Hawkins, Stephen. "Inbee Park wins North Texas Shootout for 2nd time". AP News. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  12. Kay, Emily (3 August 2015). "Inbee Park's Women's British Open win sparks 'career grand slam' debate". SB Nation. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  13. "Inbee Park hits 10th year on tour, becomes Hall of Fame eligible". ESPN. Associated Press. 10 June 2016.
  14. http://results.nbcolympics.com/golf/event/women/index.html
  15. "Inbee Park stats". LPGA. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  16. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  17. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  18. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  19. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  20. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  21. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  22. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  23. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  24. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  25. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Inbee Park.
Awards
Preceded by
Stacy Lewis
World No. 1 Ranked Golfer
15 April 2013 – 1 June 2014
Succeeded by
Stacy Lewis
Preceded by
Stacy Lewis
World No. 1 Ranked Golfer
27 October 2014 – 1 February 2015
Succeeded by
Lydia Ko
Preceded by
Lydia Ko
World No. 1 Ranked Golfer
15 June 2015 – 25 October 2015
Succeeded by
Lydia Ko
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