Park In-bee aims at title of 70th U.S. Women’s Open

The number of major championship titles that Korean golfers have won at the U.S. LPGA tour amounts to a cumulative total of 21. Among this, Korean golfers have won as many as seven U.S. Women’s Open titles. There were a number of dramatic wins as well. Park Se-ri won the title with a play of challenging spirit barefooted during the playoff on July 7, 1998. Kim Ju-yeon sealed her victory with a bunker shot birdie at Hole 18 on the final day of the event in 2005. The win by Yoo So-yeon, who clinched the trophy as non-LPGA member after the playoff against Seo Hee-kyung in 2011 was also dramatic and thrilling.

Fans are paying keen attention to how wonderful a race will unfold at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, which marks the 70th anniversary. Of 156 golfers who will participate at this year’s tournament at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania, the U.S., nearly 30 are Koreans. The number of ethnic Korean golfers will likely exceed 40 including ethnic Koreans based in foreign countries.

Amid the dominance of Korean players, Park In-bee, dubbed ‘The Queen of major tournaments,’ is set to take the lead. Park, who has won two U.S. Women’s Open titles, has garnered six of her career 15 titles at major events, demonstrating her performance that shined out all the more at major championships. After winning the Women’s PGA Championship this year, Park is aiming at her second consecutive major championship title.

She said, “I improved my conditions while taking rest last week. I focused my exercise on putting that was on shaky ground recently. Since it is a major tournament, I will be patient as I embark on the competition.” Park, who is targeting her fourth win in this season, used her failure to make the cut at the Arkansas Championship two weeks ago as a chance to control and improve her physical and mental conditions.

The golf course for the upcoming event is relatively long measuring 6,460 yards and comes with par 70. Living up to the event’s reputation as a championship hosted by the U.S. Golf Association, the course has long, tough roughs, and therefore preciseness of shots will likely be the key factor that will determine any players’ scores.

kjs0123@donga.com