Rested Park wary of chasing pack at US Open

– World No 1 Inbee Park (right) will take a low-key approach to this week’s women’s US Open as she aims to cement the legacy of compatriot Pak Se-ri with her eighth Major title.

Twenty years ago, Pak blazed a trail for Korean golfers when she stormed to victory in the 1998 US Open, a spectacular triumph that encouraged many of her compatriots to take up the sport.

“Back in ’98, I was really just a kid,” Park said. “My dad was really a big fan of golf. He was watching golf and watching Se-ri play. I remember my dad getting really ex-

Miami

cited very early in the morning.

“After that there was a big golf boom in Korea and a lot of the girls my age were starting to play golf. I was one of them.”

In 1998, Pak was the sole South Korean golfer plying her trade on the LPGA Tour. There are now more than 50 Korean players on the LPGA and last year Korean women picked up three of the five majors on offer.

Unsurprisingly, Park will start as the player to beat at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club in Alabama today.

The 29-year-old Olympic champion, a US Open winner in 2008 and 2013, prepared for this challenge with victory in the Doosan Match Play Championship on May 20.

“Obviously, winning in in Korea was a big thing,” she said. “It was a match play, so I played seven rounds in five days. That was very tough. I was proud of myself that I have done it in the match play.”

Park believes she has benefitted from a rest after that win, but remains mindful of a crowded field of contenders.

The last 12 Majors have been won by 12 different players, highlighting the depth of the women’s game and the LPGA Tour.

“There is a lot of notable players that haven’t won this year and are looking to win,” Park said.

“(On the LPGA Tour) you don’t see the same players every week up on the leaderboard. You see some kind of different levels of players, a variety of players on the leaderboard.”

One of the biggest challenges to Park’s hopes could come from Lexi Thompson. The world No 3’s long game could give her a crucial edge on a course drenched with rain. –