Inbee Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Inbee Park박인비 |
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Park at the 2013 Women's British Open
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| Personal information | |
| Born | 12 July 1988 Seoul, South Korea |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Nationality |  South Korea |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Nam Ki-hyeop
(m. 2014) |
| Children | 1 |
| Career | |
| College | Kwangwoon University |
| Turned professional | 2006 |
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 2007) |
| Former tour(s) | Futures Tour (2006) |
| Professional wins | 31 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 21 |
| Ladies European Tour | 3 |
| LPGA of Japan Tour | 4 |
| LPGA of Korea Tour | 1 |
| ALPG Tour | 1 |
| Other | 4 |
| Best results in LPGA Major Championships (Wins: 7) |
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| Kraft Nabisco C'ship | Won: 2013 |
| LPGA Championship | Won: 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| U.S. Women's Open | Won: 2008, 2013 |
| Women's British Open | Won: 2015 |
| The Evian Championship | T8: 2015, 2018, 2019 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| LPGA Vare Trophy | 2012, 2015 |
| LPGA Tour Money Winner |
2012, 2013 |
| LPGA Player of the Year | 2013 |
| GWAA Female Player of the Year |
2013 |
| Rolex Annika Major Award | 2015 |
| LPGA Hall of Fame | 2016 |
| Inbee Park | |
| Hangul |
박인비
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| Hanja |
朴仁妃
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| Revised Romanization | Bak Inbi |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pak Inbi |
Inbee Park (born on July 12, 1988) is a famous professional golfer from South Korea. She plays on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. Inbee has been ranked as the number one female golfer in the world several times.
She has won seven major championships in her career. This includes winning three major tournaments in a row during 2013. She is also the youngest player to win the U.S. Women's Open. Inbee is only the second player to win the Women's PGA Championship three years in a row. In 2016, she won the first Olympic gold medal for women's golf since 1900.
Contents
Inbee Park: Golf Superstar
Early Life and Junior Golf
Inbee Park was born in Seoul, South Korea. She started playing golf when she was 10 years old. Just two years later, at age 12, she moved to the United States. She went there to focus on her golf career.
As a junior golfer, Inbee won nine events on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit. She was also named a Rolex Junior All-American five times. In 2002, she won the U.S. Girls' Junior championship. She also finished second in that tournament in 2003 and 2005.
Becoming a Professional Golfer
In 2006, Inbee graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. She wanted to join the LPGA Tour, but the rules said players had to be 18. The LPGA said no to her request. So, she decided to become a professional golfer and play on the Duramed Futures Tour. This tour allowed 17-year-olds to join.
In 2006, she had 11 top-10 finishes on the Futures Tour. She finished third on the money list, which earned her a spot on the LPGA Tour for the 2007 season.
Amazing Wins and Records
In her first year on the LPGA Tour in 2007, Inbee tied for fourth place at the U.S. Women's Open. She also tied for second at the Safeway Classic.
Her big breakthrough came in 2008. She won the U.S. Women's Open. This was her first LPGA win. At 19 years old, she became the youngest player ever to win that title. She finished four strokes ahead of the second-place golfer.
After a tough year in 2009, Inbee bounced back in 2010. She finished in the top 10 in all four major tournaments. She also won two times on the LPGA of Japan Tour. By the end of 2010, she was ranked 12th in the world.
The year 2012 was fantastic for Inbee. She won two LPGA Tour events. She also finished in the top three in 10 out of 23 tournaments. She earned the most money and had the best scoring average on the LPGA Tour that year.
2013: A Historic Year
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The year 2013 was truly special for Inbee. She won her second major title at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The next week, she became the number one golfer in the world.
In June, she won her second major of the year, the LPGA Championship. She won in a sudden-death playoff. This made her the seventh player in LPGA Tour history to win the first two major championships of the year.
Just two weeks later, Inbee won her third major championship in a row at the U.S. Women's Open. Winning three majors in a row in one season is a very rare achievement. Only Babe Zaharias had done it before, in 1950. This win was also her sixth championship overall in 2013.
More Major Wins
In 2014, Inbee won her tenth LPGA Tour title at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic. In August, she won her fifth major championship, the LPGA Championship. This was her second LPGA Championship title in a row.
In 2015, Inbee continued her winning streak. She won her sixth major championship, the Women's PGA Championship. This made her only the second player, after Annika Sörenstam, to win this championship three times in a row.
Later in 2015, Inbee won her seventh major title at the Women's British Open. This victory meant she had won four different major championships in her career. This is known as a "career Grand Slam" in golf.
Olympic Gold and Hall of Fame
In 2016, Inbee Park was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame. At 27 years old, she was the youngest player ever to receive this honor.
In August 2016, Inbee made history again. She won the first Olympic gold medal for women's golf in 116 years. She beat the world number one player, Lydia Ko, by five strokes.
Recent Victories
In 2017, Inbee won the HSBC Women's Champions. She set a course record with a score of 64 in the final round. This was her 18th LPGA Tour title.
In 2018, she won the Bank of Hope Founders Cup. This was her 19th tour title. She also regained the world number one ranking in April 2018.
In February 2020, Inbee won the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open. In March 2021, she won the Kia Classic in California. This marked her 21st career victory on the LPGA Tour.
Major Championships Wins (7)
Inbee Park has won seven major golf championships:
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
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| 2008 | U.S. Women's Open | −9 (283) | 4 strokes |  Helen Alfredsson |
| 2013 | Kraft Nabisco Championship | −15 (273) | 4 strokes |  Ryu So-Yeon |
| 2013 | LPGA Championship | −5 (283) | Playoff1 |  Catriona Matthew |
| 2013 | U.S. Women's Open | −8 (280) | 4 strokes | In-Kyung Kim |
| 2014 | LPGA Championship | −11 (277) | Playoff2 |  Brittany Lincicome |
| 2015 | Women's PGA Championship | −19 (273) | 5 strokes | Kim Sei-young |
| 2015 | Ricoh Women's British Open | −12 (276) | 3 strokes | Ko Jin-young |
1 Defeated Matthew at the third hole of a sudden-death playoff.
2 Defeated Lincicome at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Personal Life
Inbee Park married her coach, Nam Ki-hyeop, in 2014. They welcomed their daughter in April 2023.
Team Appearances
Inbee Park has represented South Korea in several team golf events:
- Lexus Cup (representing Asia team): 2008
- International Crown (representing South Korea): 2014
See also
In Spanish: Inbee Park para niños
- List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins
- List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
