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Inbee Park Wins Women’s British Open & Completes Career Grand Slam

By Elizabeth Bethel

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I watched Inbee Park coming down the back nine at Turnberry Sunday afternoon and I knew she was going to win the 39th RICOH Women’s British Open by the look on her face.  I’ve seen that look before — in June at Westchester Country Club, when she won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, in 2014 at the Wegman’s LPGA Championship, in 2013 at the US Women’s Open.

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It’s Park’s version of the soldier’s Thousand Yard Stare.  She seems to go deep into herself.  Maybe she’s practicing self-hypnosis, or Zen.  Whatever she’s doing is working beautifully.

Inbee Park had the Look when she started her final round Sunday at the Women’s British Open at 5-under par, trailing co-leaders Jin Young Ko and Teresa Lu by 3 shots.  Suzann Pettersen and Mika Miyazato were between Park and the leaders.

Lu got off to a horrible start with a double followed by a bogey.  She recovered a shot with a birdie on 7 and was at 6-under par at the turn. But Lu’s shot at the Championship had passed.

Miyazato and Pettersen both started the day playing very respectable golf.  Miyazato picked up one stroke on her front nine and made the turn at 7-under par.  Pettersen picked up two strokes and made the turn at 9-under par.  They would both bogey their way through the back nine and drop away from a chance at victory.

Inbee Park was coming steadily up the leaderboard.  She fired off 5 birdies in her front nine, but gave back 2 strokes, for a net gain of 3, bringing her to 8-under par at the turn.  With an eagle and a birdie, Jin Young Ko also picked up 3 strokes on the front nine and made the turn at 11-under par.

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    • At that point Inbee Park was in second place on the board and trailing Jin Young Ko by 3 shots with 9 holes remaining to be played.  Park doubled down, birdied the 10th and eagled the 14th and got to 11-under par.

    Jin Young Ko, playing behind Park, also birdied the 10th, but then bogeyed the 13th and there was a tie at the top of the board.  Inbee didn’t even blink.  She looked down the fairway, she picked her targets, her balls flew straight and true.  She fired off another birdie on 16 and edged ahead by a shot.

    Behind her, on the 70th hole Jin Young Ko, who had never played links golf, who was making her British Women’s Open debut, who had looked good for a stunning upset victory only a few holes earlier, who had never stopped smiling as she played her way down one fairway after another in the company of a local caddie she hadn’t known before she arrived at Turnberry, stumbled, double bogeyed the 16th, and fell back.

    Inbee Park ended her round with a pair of pars, claimed the 2015 RICOH Women’s British Open Championship, and became the 7th member of the elite circle of LPGA Career Grand Slam winners that also includes: Pat Bradley (1986), Juli Inkster (1999), Annika Sorenstam (2003), Louise Suggs (1957), Karrie Webb (2001) and Mickey Wright (1962).

    What’s next for Inbee Park?  She has a solid lock on the top of the Rolex Rankings.  She has a clear points advantage for the Rolex Annika Major Award.  She leads the Tour’s Official Money List and the Race to the CME Globe.  An Evian Championship victory would give her a Super Career Grand Slam.  But is there more to come?  An Olympic gold medal certainly seems within her reach.

    Inbee Park has reached a legendary level of achievement in sports.  With 15 career victories on the LPGA Tour and 7 additional wins on the Japan LPGA and Ladies European Tours, the 27-year is eligible for nomination to the World Golf Hall of Fame in terms of athletic achievements, but she doesn’t meet the age requirement.  She’s too young!

    Next: In Gee Chun, The LPGA Tour's 1st 2016 Rookie

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