HARRISON: Park In-bee accomplished a great deal in winning the Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday, a victory that put her name atop the list of Korean major winners.
The five-stroke triumph at the venerable Westchester Country Club gave the 26-year-old Park six in her career, eclipsing the total of five claimed by pioneering Pak Se-ri.
“She had great accomplishments in women’s golf, inspired a lot of young Korean golfers like me,” Park told reporters after her resounding victory.
“I never thought I would be able to win more majors than her.”
The victory was Park’s 15th on the LPGA Tour, leaving her 10 behind the total claimed by Pak.
Hall of Famer Pak, 37, is still competing at a high level, finishing tied for fourth in both the 2013 Evian and 2014 ANA Inspiration majors.
“The accomplishments that she’s had, it was just nearly impossible to get, but I’m slowly getting there. I’m not quite there yet. I feel like I’m just taking baby steps.”
Park also reclaimed the world number one spot, overtaking Lydia Ko, who failed to make the cut at the year’s second major.
“I feel probably more happy about winning the major championship than being number one again. Because number one, I had an opportunity every week pretty much, and it just happened this week,” said Park.
“I really just wanted to be number one when I was really ready, and this is like the perfect tournament, perfect timing to go up there.”
Park said the win could be a launching pad for more success.
“There is no number of majors that I really set for my goal. I said I always liked to win the British Open, which I never won before,” she said.
“But for this year ... having three wins already this season and winning a major championship already, it feels like I’ve done the homework for this year.
“So I can play without the pressure a little bit from now on and hopefully that brings better results.”REUTERS
