Sung-hyun ready to sink or swim

RANCHO MIRAGE: Park Sunghyun believes her World No 1 ranking has left her in a more relaxed state of mind as she prepares to tackle the first women’s major championship of 2019 at the ANA Inspiration in California today.

The 25-year-old South Korean heads into this week’s tournament at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage chasing the third major of her career following wins at the 2017 US Open and 2018 PGA Championship.

A victory at last month’s HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore and a share of second place at last weekend’s Kia Classic indicate Sung-hyun is perfectly poised to add to her major collection at this week’s showpiece in the California desert.

However Sung-hyun insists she is not feeling the pressure heading into a tournament where she has posted two top-10 finishes in her three previous appearances.

Sung-hyun attributed her mindset in part to her position on top of the rankings, which she has led for the past five weeks.

“Before I made No 1 in the world I did feel a lot of pressure,” Sunghyun said.

“At the beginning of this year I played a lot more freely...so just being able to maintain that level of freedom, just feeling more comfortable out there,” she added.

Sung-hyun led at the halfway stage of last year’s ANA Inspiration, which was eventually won by Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg.

The experience left Sung-hyun determined to go one better this year.

“The ANA Inspiration is a major that I’ve targeted as a tournament that I would like to win,” said Sung-hyun.

A victory on Sunday afternoon would leave Sung-hyun ready to take the now traditional leap into Poppie’s Pond, the relatively shallow water hazard surrounding the 18th green.

“I don’t know how to swim, and so if the level is deep then I might drown,” Sung-hyun joked.

The fiercely competitive nature of the women’s professional circuit makes it likely that Sunghyun will have to deliver a flawless display this weekend to prevail.