Annie Park is having fun in France, on and off the course.
The Epson Tour alum sits one shot off the lead at The Evian Championship. Park the Levittown, New York native dominated on the Epson Tour in 2015 with three wins and four top 10's in 11 starts. Park was the Epson Player of the Year, Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year and earned LPGA membership for the 2016 season. In her rookie season, she has 21 starts and two top 10 finishes with a season-best T6 at the ShopRite LPGA Classic Present by Acer.
Park hit 17 of 18 greens on her way to a bogey-free, 64 which included five birdies and an eagle to round out the day. It was evident she was relaxed and enjoyed having her mom on the bag in Evian-les-Bains, France.
“It was good to have my mom back on the bag. We had a great time out there. I mean, the last time she caddied was in Hawaii, so April,” said Park. “So she's happy to be back, too.”
Playing with mom on the bag is familiar since Park grew up with mom caddying for her but this is the first year she’s had a tour caddie, so it’s always nice to have mom back for a week here and there.
“It's just fun with her on the bag. She keeps it light. She does dances out there. Kind of embarrasses me, but keeps the group fun.”
Park said she was a bit nervous coming into the event, but it didn’t show on Thursday as she posted one of her low rounds of the year.
“I just changed to the iBlades coming from the iIrons before that, before the model. So it was my first time playing with blades,” explained Park.
Park sits one shot off the lead and isn’t feeling any pressure heading into Friday.
“I mean, just trying to have fun with my mom is my goal,” said Park. “Thinking about what's happening in the present moment is my goal always for golf and life, too. I think that's what I'm going to try to do tomorrow.”
Mom’s not the only one that made the trip this week to France; sister Bo decided to come and watch sister, Annie, play for the first time as a professional. The three arrived early and took in some sites before the start of the tournament, so it’s been a good week with family.
It’s a bit unusual for players to relax and take in the sites during a tournament week, but with mom and sister in town Park decided this was the one time to break from the norm.
“Well, this was actually the first one that we actually went to somewhere else and did something for fun. One of the reasons was for my sister. It's her vacation,” Park explained. “So I think, yeah, it's just another family vacation.”
The Parks took a day trip to Paris and Lausanne for a little site seeing.
“We went to four landmarks in like half a day. So exhausted,” explained Park. “Yeah, took the train; got there around 10:00, 11:00, and then went to Champs-Élysées, and then the Eiffel Tower, and then I don't remember the other two.”
Among the sites the Parks visited were the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
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