Learn more about seven-time Major champion Inbee Park with these facts.
20 Things You Didn’t Know About Inbee Park
Inbee Park is heralded as one of the greatest golfers in the women’s game, signified by her induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame when she was just 27-years-old.
But there’s still plenty more to know about the South Korean who continues to impress on the LPGA Tour.
20 Things You Didn’t Know About Inbee Park
1. Inbee Park was born 12 July 1988, in Seoul, South Korea. She now lives in Las Vegas now though.
2. She first started playing golf when she was 10-years-old, before moving to America just two years later to pursue a golf career.
She won nine events on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit, while she was also named an All-American five times.
3. Park graduated from Kwangwoon University in her native South Korea, returning to the country for her education.
4. Her amateur career saw her finish as a semi-finalist at the 2003 US Women’s Amateur. She also recorded two top ten finishes on the LPGA Takefuji Classic.
5. The South Korean’s request to join the LPGA was turned down when she was 17, with the organisation requiring players to be at least 18-years-old to join the Tour.
She earned her way onto the Tour for the following year after finishing third on the Futures Tour money list, recording 11 top-ten finishes in the season she played.
6. Park’s rookie season on the LPGA Tour saw her finish T4 at the US Women’s Open, before ending the year fourth in the rookie of the year standings.
7. She is the youngest ever winner of the US Women’s Open after her victory in 2008, when she was just 19-years-old.
8. Park’s first LPGA Tour win, and only one for four years, came with a Major victory in 2008 at the US Women’s Open.
Her win made her the youngest player ever to win the title, at 19, finishing four strokes ahead of second place Helen Alfredsson.
9. Park had to wait four years between her maiden LPGA Tour victory and her second triumph, which came in 2012 at the Evian Masters.
That year she managed to finally break into the top ten in the Women’s World Golf Ranking, ending the year with another LPGA Tour victory and ranked fourth in the world.
10. She became only the fourth LPGA Tour player to win three Majors in a calendar year, after winning the ANA Inspiration, Women’s PGA Championship, and Women’s US Open all in 2013.
11. Park won three consecutive Women’s PGA Championships in 2013, 2014, and 2015, which is matched by just one other player, Annika Sorenstam.
12. After winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2013, her second Major crown, Park was officially ranked the best female golfer in the world.
That year she proceeded to win five more LPGA Tour tournaments, including two more Majors, cementing her ranking as the best in the world.
13. Park has seven Major championship wins to her name, though she is yet to complete a ‘Super Career Grand Slam’ of Majors after failing to win The Evian Championship since it turned into a Major in 2013.
Her best finish in the tournament is T8, which she has finished three times, while she has triumphed in all four other Majors on offer.
14. 2014 saw Park continue her flying form, three wins on the LPGA Tour, including the LPGA Championship, helping her retain top spot in the Women’s World Golf Ranking.
15. Despite five wins, two of which were Majors, on the LPGA Tour in 2015, Park fell to second in the Women’s World Golf Ranking, not that she would have minded considering her trophy cabinet.
Park’s last Major victory came in 2015, after adding the Women’s British Open to her collection.
16. Park represented South Korea at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, winning the tournament to become the first recipient of the gold medal since 1900 in the women’s individual event.
17. Inbee has 21 LPGA Tour wins to her name, with a further three on the Ladies European Tour, four on the LPGA of Japan Tour, and one each on the LPGA of Korea Tour and ALPG Tour.
18. After competing in the Women’s PGA Championship in 2016, Park became the youngest player to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame – at just 27-years-old.
19. She has also won other personal accolades in her career, including: LPGA Vare Trophy in 2012 and 2015, the LPGA Player of the Year in 2013, the GWAA Female Player of the Year in 2013, and the Rolex Annika Major Award in 2015.
20. The South Korean doesn’t own any social media accounts.
This article 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Inbee Park appeared first on Golf Monthly.