Park In-bee Hall of Famer
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By Baek Byung-yeul
Korean golfer Park In-bee will finally get a chance to have her name engraved in the LPGA Hall of Fame when the world Rolex No. 2 meets the tour’s 10-year membership requirement at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this week.
To become the 24th Hall of Famer, Park met the 27-point requirement for induction last season and she only needed 10 starts this year to become the second Korean to be inducted, following Pak Se-ri, who was honored in 2007.
To qualify for the Hall of Fame, members have three criteria ― they must be active for 10 years; must have won at least one LPGA major championship ― the Vare Trophy (given to the player with the lowest-scoring average for the season) or the Rolex Player of the Year honor ― and must have accumulated a total of 27 points. One point is given for each LPGA tournament win and two for each major championship.
Park In-bee reacts on the 18th green after winning the 2013 Women's U.S. Open at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, New York, on June 30, 2013. / UPI-Yonhap
Park has won 17 LPGA Tour tournaments, including seven majors. She also received two Vare trophies, in 2012 and 2015, and one LPGA Player of the Year honor in 2013.
Although the Hall of Fame awaits, Park has had a rough time this season. She has withdrawn three times in nine starts and has had only two top-10 finishes. Her best was a second at the Kia Classic.
Park, who had to take a month’s break because of a back injury at the season’s beginning, is now struggling with a thumb injury. But she says she is extremely focused on the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“I really wanted to be prepared for the KPMG and defending my title three times in a row,” Park told LPGA.com on June 5. “I wanted to check if I was ready for the tournament. I just wouldn’t be able to tell unless I played other tournaments. I wanted to play and see how I felt, and I wanted to be ready.”
Park In-bee poses with the Vare trophy after winning the scoring title for 2012 at the CME Group Titleholders at the TwinEagles Club in Naples, Fla., November 18, 2012. / AFP-Yonhap
Park aiming for 4 straight wins
At the championship at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington, from Thursday (local time), three-time defending champion Park also aims to be the first woman to win the same major for four straight years.
Park is also in hot pursuit of Mickey Wright who won this championship a record four times (1958, 1960, 1961 and 1963). She already joins Kathy Whitworth, Nancy Lopez, countrywoman Pak Se-ri and Annika Sorenstam as three-time winners.