SAMMAMISH, Wash., June 9, 2016 - After the completion of today’s first round at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Inbee Park officially qualified for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. Park, a 2007 LPGA Tour rookie, fulfilled the 10-year membership requirement for Hall of Fame qualification today with her 10th start of the 2016 season. She fulfilled the 27-point requirement at the end of last season when she won her second career Vare Trophy, given to the player with the lowest scoring average for the year.
“It feels very special because it starts back and I just started playing golf and watching a lot of players on TV thinking that I want to be there,” said Park. “I want to be on the LPGA Tour. And once I got on the LPGA Tour, the Hall of Fame became an ultimate goal, just naturally. Nobody told me the Hall of Fame should be your last goal or anything like that. But it just came so naturally that I wanted to be up with the most greatest players in the history.”
At the age of 27, Park becomes the youngest player to qualify for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame and the first player to qualify since fellow South Korean Se Ri Pak in 2007. She is the 24th player overall to qualify for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame.
To date, Park has 17 career LPGA Tour wins, including seven major championships. She became the second youngest and seventh overall player to complete the Career Grand Slam (winning four different majors) with her win at the 2015 RICOH Women’s British Open. Park earned Rolex Player of the Year honors in 2013 and has held the No. 1 world ranking for a total of 92 weeks in her career, the third most by a player since the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings started in 2006.
“I didn’t really think about the Hall of Fame until maybe a couple of years ago because I thought the criteria to get in the Hall of Fame was such a hard thing and I thought that I had a long ways to go,” said Park. “So I thought it was a long dream. But it definitely came quicker than I thought. And it obviously wasn’t easy to get there. There were some very hard moments and very successful moments altogether and made me who I am right now.”
Park shot an opening round, 1-over 72 at Sahalee Country Club on Thursday and is tied for 20th. She was greeted by a group of fellow LPGA Tour players, friends and family on the 18th green after her round.
“It felt such special, especially I didn’t expect Se Ri, Annika, Laura, Webbie and Juli to come out and congratulate me at all,” said Park. “So I was really, really surprised to see them and it just felt so much more special seeing a lot of those players -- legendary players that I have been looking up to when I was growing up. And actually being able to see them after the round and waiting for me after the round with my smiley face.”
VIDEO: Inbee Park LPGA Tour Hall of Fame Interview
How Inbee Park Qualified for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame
Inbee Park earned the required number of points (27) to qualify for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame at the CME Group Tour Championship on November 19, 2015 when she was awarded the Vare Trophy for having the lowest scoring average (69.41) during the 2015 season.
LPGA OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT AND MAJOR WINS: 24 POINTS
LPGA AWARDS: 3 POINTS
| Year | Tournament Name or Award | Points (total) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | U.S. Women's Open | 2 |
| 2012 | Evian Masters Presented by Société Générale | 1 (3) |
| 2012 | Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia | 1 (4) |
| 2012 | Vare Trophy | 1 (5) |
| 2013 | Honda LPGA Thailand | 1 (6) |
| 2013 | Kraft Nabisco Championship | 2 (8) |
| 2013 | North Texas LPGA Shootout | 1 (9) |
| 2013 | Wegmans LPGA Championship | 1 (11) |
| 2013 | Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G | 1 (12) |
| 2013 | U.S. Women's Open | 2 (14) |
| 2013 | Rolex Player of the Year | 1 (15) |
| 2014 | Manulife Financial LPGA Classic | 1 (16) |
| 2014 | Wegmans LPGA Championship | 2 (18) |
| 2014 | Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship Presented by Taiwan Mobile | 1 (19) |
| 2015 | HSBC Women's Champions | 1 (20) |
| 2015 | Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC | 1 (21) |
| 2015 | KPMG Women's PGA Championship | 2 (23) |
| 2015 | RICOH Women's British Open | 2 (25) |
| 2015 | Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex and JTBC | 1 (26) |
| 2015 | Vare Trophy | 1 (27) |
Career Snapshot
- 225 total starts in her career including events as a non-member (6) and member (219). Park played in 222 official events and three unofficial events.
- 222* starts, 188 cuts made (85%)
- 17 wins (tied for 31st on LPGA Official Career Wins List)
- 7 major championship wins (tied for 6th all time and currently tied for most by an active player)
- 84 top-10s (38%)**
- 757 rounds; 70.55 scoring average (based off 217*** starts)
- Career low round: 61 (2014 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic)
- Lowest tournament score to par: 23-under par (2014 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic)
- Career earnings: $12,834,376 (7th on LPGA Official Career Money List)
* Does include events as a non-member (6 from 2004-2006). Does not include unofficial events played (3, 2007 LPGA NW Arkansas, 2008 Lexus Cup, 2014 International Crown)
** Does not include unofficial 2008 Lexus Cup 2nd place finish
*** Does not include unofficial (3, 2007 LPGA NW Arkansas, 2008 Lexus Cup, 2014 International Crown) or match play events (4, 2007 HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship, 2010-12 Sybase Match Play Championship)
LPGA Tour Hall of Fame - Youngest Players to Enter
| Year | Player | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Inbee Park | 27 |
| 2007 | Se Ri Pak | 29 |
| 2005 | Karrie Webb | 30 |
| 1987 | Nancy Lopez | 30 |
| 2003 | Annika Sorenstam | 33 |
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