Inbee Park had a noble reason for missing the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia a year ago. She wanted to play, but with her wedding set for the Monday following the tournament, it simply wasn’t feasible. However, a year later, Park made sure to return to the place where she found a win in 2012.
“It feels great to be back since I missed last year. It was the week before the wedding so I couldn’t come,” Park said. “I had a win here in 2012. Except for that, I really haven’t played well on this golf course. I mean, this golf course can play very tough and can play very scorable at the same time. Definitely watch out on a few holes.”
Park’s correct in that her results have been mixed here at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club. Although she won here in 2012, she finished T32 in 2013 and T46 in 2010 - her only other two appearances at this championship. Mixed results aside, Park’s thrilled to be back in Malaysia.
As for married life, well, that’s been even better over the last year than the brilliant golf she’s played.
“I really don’t feel that much of a difference,” Park said of her first year as a married woman. “We had a Korean Thanksgiving last week in Korea and I visited my husband’s house down south. We had a really great time. I feel like I have a lot more family now.”
Ko-Ming For That No. 1 Spot
Inbee Park sees Lydia Ko in her rearview mirror and knows that if Ko keeps playing the type of golf she’s played recently, she won’t be there long. Park’s held the No. 1 ranking since her win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in early June, but Ko’s posted back-to-back wins at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and Evian Championship and could potentially pass Park this week for the No. 1 ranking.
“Lydia has been playing some fantastic golf the last couple of months,” Park said. “Definitely gives a lot of motivation to finish off the year obviously in a similar situation to last year where I was chasing Stacy.”
Ko’s also created quite the battle for all of the season-ending awards. Ko leads the Race to the CME Globe, while Park holds a narrow margin in the Vare Trophy, money list and Rolex Player of the Year standings. Park watched Stacy Lewis sweep the three major post-season awards last year and Ko won the Race to the CME Globe to end the year. Park’s determined not to let that happen over the course of the final seven events of the 2015 season. Last year she was chasing at this point. This year she’s in control and hoping to hold on.
“Few tournaments to go and obviously it’s the opposite, so I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself,” Park said. “That’s what I did last year and didn’t work so well. Trying to learn from the experience and trying to enjoy the rest of the year.”
However, Park won’t be too disappointed either way. Her goal for 2015 was to win the British Open, and she accomplished that. The rest is gravy, and she doesn’t want to get too greedy.
“I have won the British Open, so I really have achieved my goal,” Park said. “If I ask for more, I think it’s being just a little bit too much. I am just trying to keep in mind that my goal was the British Open and the rest is just a present. Just trying to do my best. If something comes with it, that’s great. If not, it still was a great year.”
World No. 1 Ranking Scenarios
Ko would become No. 1 if:
- She wins and Park finishes in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
- She finishes in 2nd and Park finishes in solo 40th or worse
Park would retain No. 1 if:
- She finishes in runner-up or higher
- Lydia Ko finishes higher than second
Leaving The Wisdom Teeth Behind
Minjee Lee’s three weeks off weren’t as fun as some of her competitors. She had to get her wisdom teeth out in America, which put her on the couch for a week. She did, however, get to return home to Australia for the first time in a long while for a week and half before coming to Malaysia.
“Nice and relaxing. I could recover really well, so it was good,” Lee said. “I can eat properly now, so...”
Lee’s recovered and back in form in time for her first ever trip to Malaysia. She’s posted five consecutive top-25 finishes heading into this week after a tie for 11th at the Evian Championship in her last start. However, she says no one really knows where their game is at after a three-week break until they tee it up Thursday.
“I’ve been working on a couple projects,” Lee said of her game. “Hopefully, it’ll come together this week. We have a couple more weeks in Asia, so, yeah, be good to see where I am.”
One thing she won’t be paying attention to this week - and the rest of the season - is the Rolex Rookie of the Year race. Sei Young Kim leads but Lee is in third and Kim hasn’t ran away with it yet. She wants to win but won’t be watching.
“I’m not thinking about it,” Lee said. “I think it’ll come to if I play well. Just focusing on playing well.”
Angels On The Golf Course
Five Malaysian angels, as they’ve been coined here, are in the field this week. Kelly Tan, Michelle Koh, Ainil Bakar, Nur Durriyah, and Cindy Lee-Pridgen are the five Malaysian players in the field this week. The first three were selected based off of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings as the top three ranked Malaysian players while Durriyah and Lee-Pridgen earned their way into the field via a 25-player qualifier held at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club in advance of the tournament. Tan, the highest ranked Malaysian player, is making her fourth appearance at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia with her best finish coming in 2010 with a tie for 32nd.
“I’ve been looking forward to coming back home and play back here and Malaysia,” Tan said. “So I’m extra excited to play in front of the home crowd. The golf course is looking great and the tournament is fantastic. I just can’t be any more excited to go out there tomorrow.”
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