Any time the word “career” is included in a historical achievement, it’s bound to be monumental. That was the case last Sunday when South Korea’s Inbee Park finished with a 65 at Turnberry, Scotland to capture the Ricoh Women’s British Open and complete the Career Grand Slam on the LPGA.
Park, 27, became only the seventh woman and 12th player overall to win at least four of the major golf titles during her career. Only Karrie Webb (age 26) was younger among the women Grand Slammers and two men were younger – Jack Nicklaus (26) and Tiger Woods (24).
“That’s been my goal of the career, and I've achieved it at the age of 27,” Park said. “So I don’t know what the next goal will be, but I’ve got to set some kind of goal. Just seemed so far and so hard that I couldn’t achieve the Grand Slam, and I’m here and I’ve finally done it.”
All Park has to do is look five weeks ahead to The Evian Championship, the final of five majors this season. She won the tournament in 2012, the year before it became a major. With a Career Grand Slam in hand, now only a Super Career Grand Slam (five different career majors) awaits, a feat accomplished only by Karrie Webb.
Park has won seven career major titles, including six in the last 14 majors played. This season, in four majors she has shot just two rounds over par, has a 69.25 stroke average and is a cumulative 40-under par.
Here’s a look at the players who have completed the professional Career Grand Slam (with first win listed in each event):
| Player | Career Grand Slam | Age at Slam Completion |
| Women | ||
| Louise Suggs | 1946 Titleholders, 1946 Western Open, 1949 U.S. Women’s Open, 1957 LPGA | 33 |
| Mickey Wright | 1958 LPGA, 1958 U.S. Women’s Open, 1961 Titleholders, 1962 Western | 27 |
| Pat Bradley | 1980 du Maurier, 1981 U.S. Women’s Open, 1986 Nabisco, 1986 LPGA | 35 |
| Karrie Webb* | 1999 du Maurier Classic, 2000 Nabisco, 2000 U.S. Women’s Open, 2001 LPGA, 2002 Women’s British | 26 |
| Annika Sorenstam | 1995 U.S. Women’s Open, 2001 Nabisco, 2003 LPGA, 2003 Women’s British | 32 |
| Juli Inkster | 1984 Nabisco, 1984 du Maurier, 1999 LPGA, 1999 U.S. Women’s Open | 38 |
| Inbee Park | 2008 U.S. Women’s Open, 2013 ANA Inspiration, 2013 LPGA, 2015 Ricoh Women’s British | 27 |
| Men | ||
| Gene Sarazen | 1922 U.S. Open, 1922 PGA, 1932 British Open, 1935 Masters | 33 |
| Ben Hogan | 1946 PGA, 1948 U.S. Open, 1951 Masters, 1953 British Open | 40 |
| Gary Player | 1959 British Open, 1961 Masters, 1962 PGA, 1965 U.S. Open | 29 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 1962 U.S. Open, 1963 Masters, 1963 PGA, 1966 British Open | 26 |
| Tiger Woods | 1997 Masters, 1999 PGA, 2000 U.S. Open, 2000 British Open | 24 |
| *-Webb is the only LPGA player to win five separate majors in her career. She won the fourth, the 2001 LPGA, at age 26. | ||
Note: The Titleholders was a major championship from 1937-66 and 1972. The Western Open was a major from 1937-67 and the du Maurier was a major from 1979-2000. The Nabisco Dinah Shore became a major in 1983 and was renamed the ANA Inspiration in 2015. The du Maurier was replaced by the Women’s British Open in 2001. The LPGA added the Evian Championship as a major (fifth) in 2013.
The Double Eagle has landed
Morgan Pressel’s double eagle on the par-5 14th hole last week at Turnberry, Scotland, in the Ricoh Women’s British Open was the first of 2015. She holed a 5-wood from 197 yards in the first round.
There were a record four double eagles in 2014, one of which occurred at the Ricoh Women’s British Open when Vikki Laing made two on the 17th hole at Royal Birkdale.
There have been 36 double eagles since Marilynn Smith made the first recorded albatross in the LPGA record book at the 1971 Lady Carling Open.
Etc.
South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim has opened her last two majors in Europe with a 61 (went on to win the 2014 Evian Championship) and a 65 (finished T13 at last week’s Ricoh Women’s British Open). She went bogey free in both rounds. … The LPGA is off this week before resuming action Aug. 13 at the Cambia Portland Classic in Portland, Ore. … The largest victory margin this season is five strokes, by Inbee Park at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The next largest is three strokes, accomplished twice by Park, at the Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout on May 3 and last week’s Ricoh Women’s British Open. … No wonder So Yeon Ryu had success at Turnberry last week (T3). Her caddie’s name is Tom Watson. No, not the Hall of Fame golfer who nearly won the 2009 British Open at Turnberry at age 59.)
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