Inbee Park was inspired by fellow South Korean Se Ri Pak to pick up and move to Las Vegas as a 12-year old and pursue a full-time career in professional golf. That was only two years after Pak won the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open to draw international attention. Little did Park know that she would eventually surpass Pak in major championship titles and possibly as the greatest player from South Korea.
“She inspired a lot of young Korean golfers like me,” Park said after winning the KPMG Women’s LPGA Championship last week. “To win more majors than her, I never thought I would be able to win more majors than her or more tournaments than her. The accomplishments that she’s had, it’s just nearly impossible to get, but I’m slowly getting there.”
Here are some statistical tidbits to emphasize Park’s accomplishments:
- Majors: Park has six major titles, compared to Pak’s five. Only Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb have won more majors among international players. A look at Park’s major titles:
| Year | Tournament | Noteworthy |
| 2008 | Women’s U.S. Open | Park was 19 and won by four |
| 2013 | ANA Inspiration | Won by four and became World No. 1 for first time |
| 2013 | LPGA Championship | Beat Catriona Matthew on third playoff hole to win first two majors |
| 2013 | U.S. Women’s Open | Won third straight major, sixth title of the year |
| 2014 | LPGA Championship | Beat Brittany Lincicome in a playoff |
| 2015 | KPMG Women's PGA Championship | Tied majors mark for under-par scoring in winning by five |
| Most Majors | |
| Majors | Player |
| 15 | Patty Berg |
| 13 | Mickey Wright |
| 11 | Louise Suggs |
| 10 | Annika Sorenstam Babe Zaharias |
| 8 | Betsy Rawls |
| 7 | Juli Inkster |
| Karrie Webb | |
| 6 | Inbee Park Pat Bradley Betsy King Patty Sheehan Kathy Whitworth |
- Career wins: Pak has accumulated 25 career LPGA wins compared to 15 for Park.
- Major under-par: Park’s 19-under par winning score tied three others among the lowest under-par scoring in a major for both women and men. Those include Cristie Kerr at the 2010 LPGA Championship, Yani Tseng at the 2011 LPGA and Tiger Woods at the 2000 British Open.
- Majors streak: Park has won five of the last 12 majors played since the beginning of 2013. She has also placed fourth and 10th during that span.
- Bogey-free streak: Park completed last week’s tournament by playing 56 consecutive holes without a bogey. Earlier this season, from the third round of the Honda LPGA Thailand through a win at the HSBC Women’s Champions and into the first round of the Kia Classic, Park went 93 consecutive holes without a bogey.
- Tournament streak: Park has won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship three consecutive years, tying Annika Sorenstam’s mark (2003-5). Park accomplished the feat on three different courses (Locust Hill CC and Monroe CC in suburban Rochester, N.Y., and Westchester CC in suburban New York City). She will go for four in a row next June 9-12 at Sahalee CC in Samamish, Wash. Only Mickey Wright (four) has won more total KPMG Women’s PGAs.
- Career earnings: Park has moved to eight on the LPGA Career Money List with $11,373,484.
Dancing with No. 1
Inbee Park became No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings for a third time with her victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She began 2014 as the No. 1 player before being overtaken by Stacy Lewis for 21 weeks, then finished the year at No. 1. Lydia Ko supplanted Park for 19 weeks early this season.
Here are the players who have been No. 1 since the rankings were created in 2006: Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr, Jiyai Shin, Yani Tseng, Stacy Lewis, Inbee Park and Lydia Ko.
Strong runner-up
Sei Young Kim leads the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings but is also very much in the mix for overall top honors. The South Korean rookie has won twice, finished second last week to Inbee Park and and has recorded seven top-10 finishes. She finished T4 at the ANA Inspiration, the season’s first major, when she led by three entering the final round and shot a 75. ANA Inspiration winner Brittany Lincicome finished fourth at the KPMG Women’s PGA and is the only player to fare better in the first two majors.
Kim leads the LPGA in birdies, eagles and sub-par holes.
Etc.
The LPGA is off this week as the men play the U.S. Open. Next week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship will be followed by an off week before the U.S. Women’s Open July 9-12. … Lydia Ko ended her streak of 53 consecutive made cuts to begin her LPGA career with last week’s missed cut at Westchester. Tiger Woods holds the PGA Tour mark with 142 consecutive made cuts from 1998-2005. Jane Blalock holds the LPGA mark of 299, recorded from 1969-1980.
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