| In-Bee
requested a special exemption to be allowed to join the LPGA before
her 17th birthday, but was turned down. Thus, she remained an amateur
at the start of the 2006 season; she turned pro after she graduated
from high school in May. Meanwhile, Song Hee Kim had petitioned the
Futures Tour to be allowed to join, and the tour responded by lowering
the minimum age limit to 17 from 18. Thus, In-Bee was able to become
a full member of that tour right from the start of her pro career.
In-Bee played well on the Futures Tour. Although
she did not win an event, she notched multiple top finishes and
wound up in third place on the Futures Tour money list. Thus, she
earned her exemption for the 2007 LPGA season.
In 2007, In-Bee started to spell her name Inbee,
perhaps to make it easier to remember for fans. Her rookie year
on tour was a rough struggle at first. Until June, she missed more
cuts than she made, and her best finish was a tie for 45th. But
all that changed at the US Women's Open. Perhaps remembering how
well she had played USGA events as a junior, she did wonderfully
there, eventually finishing tied for 4th, by far her best finish
of the year. She played well at the British Open as well, just missing
a top ten.
Her best result of her career came a few weeks later
in Portland. She started the week all right, but on the final day
caught fire, shooting a blistering 8 under par 64 that catapulted
her all the way into the top five. By the end of the day, her rally
was good enough for a tie for second. She finished the year in the
top forty on the money list, securing a two year exempt card on
tour and winding up fourth in the Rookie of the Year standings.
All in all, it had been a wonderful year for her on tour.
If 2007 was a strong season for Inbee, 2008 was
a historic one. She quickly notched three straight top tens, including
one at the year's first Major, and continued her strong play thereafter.
But it was at the US Women's Open that she became a star. The previous
year, she had finished tied for 4th, and in 2008, she found herself
contending for the title on Sunday. While all around her collapsed,
she played brilliantly, eventually capturing the title by four shots.
In winning this event, the biggest in all women's golf, she became
the third Korean to collect that crown, and the youngest ever champion,
beating the record previously held by her idol, Se Ri Pak. She revealed
that she had taken up the game only two days after watching Se Ri
win this very title in 1998; things had indeed come full circle
for the Korean golf explosion.
Inbee struggled a bit after this win, but she still
collected more than a million dollars in earnings in 2008. She also
earned her first major sponsorship, with SK Telecom, as a direct
result of her win. She returned home to Korea as a heroine just
a few days after her amazing accomplishment.
Inbee's weird post-Open malaise continued in 2009.
She finally started to show signs of life mid-year with a tie for
14th at the LPGA Championship and two other top 30s at the next
two Majors. But it wasn't until the end of the year that she finally
achieved her first top tens, two in a row to finish the year.
Inbee actually had her best 2009 result on the KLPGA.
At the Nefs Masterpiece, she got into a playoff with Bo Mi Lee,
but Lee prevailed on the second hole.
At the end of the year, Inbee entered Japanese LPGA
Qualifying School. She succeeded in earning a card on the JLPGA,
and played both tours in 2010. Indeed, Park's start on the JLPGA
tour was nothing short of astonishing. She finished tied for 2nd
with Jiyai Shin at her very first JLPGA event of the year, although
she lost to another Korean rookie, Sun Ju Ahn, by five shots. In
her second event, she actually had the top score at the end of the
week, but then was assessed a two stroke penalty for not replacing
her ball after it moved on a green. This downgraded her to another
second. Shifting to America, she notched yet another 2nd at the
Kia Classic, before returning to Japan to once again finish second,
this time losing a playoff. She finally got her first win the week
after that, but in her next event, she finished - second! All in
all, it was a great year in Japan for Inbee. In limited action she
notched two wins, her other win being the final event of the year,
the Ricoh Cup, which was also a Major. In all, she had 10 top tens
in 14 starts.
Her LPGA year was also very impressive. She shattered
her record for most top tens in a year, collecting 11, including
top tens in all four Majors. She did not win, but had a second (at
the aforementioned Kia Classic), a third, and a fourth among those
11 top tens. She finished 11th on the money list, a fantastic return
to form after struggling so much after her Open win.
2011 was not so good a season for Park, although
she still finished 31st on the money list. On the LPGA tour, she
had three top tens. Her best moment came at the Ricoh British Women's
Open in August. She shot a second round 64 to move into a share
of the lead. She was not able to hold on, however, finishing 7th
in the end. She also had a tie for 6th at the US Women's Open, and
made it to the round of 16 at the Sybase Match Play.
Inbee did better on the JLPGA in 2011, capturing
a win at the Daikin Orchid Ladies Open, the first event of the season.
She won by three strokes over Japanese star Miki Saiki, and was
4 ahead of Bo Mee Lee and Bo Bae Song.
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