Park In-bee Flies to 12th in World Golf Rankings

Park In-bee has been flooded with congratulations since she became the youngest U.S. Open winner on Monday. She also received a proud pat on the back by Pak Se-ri who won the U.S. Open championship 10 years ago and is responsible for ushering Park In-bee into the golf world.

Before traveling to Arkansas to participate in the Arkansas Championship, Park In-bee received a phone call from Pak Se-ri. Since she was disqualified from the preliminary competition, Pak Se-ri could not watch Park In-bee’s victory but she told the young winner, “You performed well. I’m proud of you. I’m really proud of being a Korean golfer. Let’s celebrate later.”

In response to Pak’s congratulations, Park In-bee said, “Were it not for you, I would not have won.” Park In-bee plans to visit Korea in mid-July.

On the Women’s World Golf Ranking released yesterday, Park In-bee flew to 12th, up 30 notches. The Korean golfer with the highest ranking is Jang Jeong (8th). Shin Ji-ae ranked 9th.

kjs0123@donga.com