|
In-Bee Park was a top junior golfer who quickly
made waves when she moved to America. Her biggest splash came
at the 2002 US Girls Championship, where she won medalist
honors during the stroke play portion, then proceeded to win
the match play as well, the first player to do both since
1997. She went on to win the AJGA US Girls Junior Championship,
and finished 2nd in two other events. This won her the 2002
Polo Golf Junior Player of the Year award, the youngest to
ever do so.
In 2003, her success continued. She played
well defending her title at the US Girl's Championship. She
started by winning medalist honors during the stroke play
section, then made her way methodically to the finals, where
she met Sukjin Lee-Wuesthoff for the championship. Alas, after
carving out a five-up lead in just eight holes, she faltered,
and Lee-Wuesthoff went on to capture the crown. It was the
first all-Korean final in Girl's Championship history.
In 2004, In-Bee did not make it to the finals
of the Girl's Championship, although she did, for the third
straight year, win medalist honors for the low total during
stroke play. She also lost in the third round of the Women's
Amateur. However, she also got a chance to play in an LPGA
event, the Takefuji Classic, and made the most of it, finishing
tied for 8th. Indeed, if a few more breaks had gone her way,
she might have had a shot at the win.
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.
|
