By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Korean-Brazilian golfer Angela Park has earned the LPGA rookie of the year award.
After finishing third at the inaugural Navistar Classic in Alabama, where the 19-year-old added 75 points to total 952, she took the honor, regardless of what happens during the tour's remaining events.
The runner-ups are South Korea's Kim In-kyung and Min Na-on, who each have 439 points.
Crowned as the top rookie in the LPGA, Park became the sixth Korean female to win the rookie of the year title, after Pak Se-ri in 1998, Kim Mi-hyun in 1999, Han Hee-won in 2001, Ahn Shi-hyun in 2004 and Lee Seon-hwa last year.
Park, who was born in Iguassu Falls, Brazil, started golf at age 8 after moving to Southern California.
During her amateur career in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), she tallied 24 top-10 finishes, including five wins, in 29 tries over a span of more than four seasons, and made the Junior All-American first team in both 2004 and 2005. She was a semifinalist at the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship in 2005.
Her professional career began in April of last year on the Duramed Futures Tour, where she played in 16 events, and earned exempt status for the 2007 LPGA season by tying for fifth at the LPGA Qualifying Tournament.
Park started standing out after finishing third at the Fields Open in Hawaii in February and established herself as a contender at the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open at which she came in fifth and tied for second.
As of Tuesday, Park is around the top 10 in several categories. She is ranked ninth on the money list with $847,933, eighth in scoring average with 71.47 strokes and second behind Lorena Ochoa in birdies with 276.
``Before the season, I aimed at the rookie of the year. I am getting more confident after achieving my goal,'' Park said in a media interview.
``It would be great to see young players saying, `I want to be like Angela Park.'"
``I set my sight on winning a tour as there are several tours left,'' said the winless Park, who has six top-10 finishes in 23 tour events.
Park will visit South Korea to compete at the Hana Bank-Kolon Championship, the only LPGA Tour event in Korea, which tees off on Oct. 19. in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
``It is my first time to play in Korea," she said. ``It will be such a good experience.''