Inbee Park (, or ; born 12 July 1988) is a South Korean

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who plays on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

and the

LPGA of Japan Tour The LPGA of Japan Tour is a professional golf tour for women organised by the Japan Ladies Professional Golfers' Association. The tour was founded in 1968. It is the second richest women's golf tour in the world. The U.S.-based LPGA Tour is the mo ...

. She has been the number one ranked player in the Women's World Golf Rankings for four separate runs: April 2013 to June 2014, October 2014 to February 2015, June 2015 to October 2015, and from April to July 2018. Park has won seven major championships in her career, including three consecutive major wins during the 2013 season, becoming only the fourth LPGA Tour player to win three majors in a calendar year. She is the youngest player to win the U.S. Women's Open and the second player, after Annika Sorenstam, to win the

Women's PGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...

three years in a row. Park is only the seventh player to win four different majors during her career and capture a career Grand Slam. In 2016, she won the first

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

since 1900 in the women's individual tournament. Park has endorsement deals with

KB Financial Group KB Financial Group Inc. () is a financial holding company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The Group and its subsidiaries provide a broad range of banking and financial services. It is one of the domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) ...

, Srixon, Panasonic, Lynx, Jeju Samdasoo & Mercedes-Benz.

Early life and amateur career

Park was born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. She began playing golf at the age of 10. Two years later, at age 12, she moved to the United States to pursue a golf career.Golfweek
Inbee Park finds her comfort zone on LPGA
30 August 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2013. She won nine events on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit and was a five-time Rolex Junior All-American. She was a semifinalist at the 2003 U.S. Women's Amateur. She won the 2002 U.S. Girls' Junior and finished as runner-up in both 2003 and 2005. While an amateur from 2004 through 2006, Park played in the Kraft Nabisco Championship as a sponsor invite and in the LPGA Takefuji Classic three times, recording two top-10 finishes. Park graduated from Kwangwoon University in

Seoul, Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Professional career

2006

In 2006, after graduating from Bishop Gorman High School in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Park appealed to the

LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

for permission to attempt to qualify for the LPGA as a 17-year-old. LPGA rules generally require that a player be 18 to join the Tour. The LPGA denied Park's request, so she enrolled at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

but soon after dropped out and turned professional, playing on the Duramed Futures Tour where the age of entry had been lowered to 17 in late January. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, she recorded 11 top-10 finishes on the

Futures Tour The Epson Tour, previously known as the LPGA Futures Tour, and known for sponsorship reasons between 2006 and 2010 as the Duramed Futures Tour and between 2012 and 2021 as the Symetra Tour, is the official developmental golf tour of the LPGA Tour ...

. She finished third on its season-ending money list to earn exempt status on the

for the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

season.

2007

During her rookie season in

, Park tied for fourth at the U.S. Women's Open and tied for second at the Safeway Classic. She finished 37th on the money list and fourth in the rookie of the year standings. In 2007, Park also changed the English spelling of her name from In-Bee to Inbee.

2008

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Park won the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

for her first LPGA win. At 19, she was the youngest player to win the title, and finished four strokes ahead of runner-up

Helen Alfredsson Helen Christine Alfredsson (born 9 April 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer who played primarily on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is also a life member of the Ladies European Tour. She won the LPGA major Nabisco Dinah Shore and twice fini ...

2009–12

After her breakout year in 2008, Park struggled in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, recording only four top-10 finishes and ending the season 50th on the LPGA official money list. In 2010, Park had top-10 finishes in all four major tournaments, won twice on the LPGA of Japan Tour and finished the season ranked 12th in the world rankings. Park's results in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

did not match those of the previous years. With no top-five finishes on the LPGA Tour, she sunk to 31st on the official money list and 27th in scoring average. She won once on the JLPGA Tour, at the Daikin Orchid Ladies. Park bounced back from her 2011 slump in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. She had two wins on the LPGA Tour, finished in the top-three in 10 out of 23 tournaments she played, and topped the LPGA in both money earned and scoring average.

2013

Park won her fourth LPGA Tour event in the second tournament of the year at the Honda LPGA Thailand event by a single stroke. She shot a final round 67 to come from four back to finish a shot ahead of Ariya Jutanugarn. In April, Park won her second major title with a four-stroke victory at the Kraft Nabisco Championship over compatriot Ryu So-Yeon. The following week, she became the top ranked golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Park won her sixth LPGA Tour title and third of the year a couple weeks later at the North Texas LPGA Shootout. She holed a four-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to edge out Carlota Ciganda by a stroke. In June, Park won her second consecutive major of the year and third career major at the

LPGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...

at Locust Hill Country Club. After a 36-hole final day of regulation play, Park defeated Catriona Matthew on the third sudden-death playoff hole to clinch the victory. She started the third round a shot ahead of Morgan Pressel. Park became the seventh player in LPGA Tour history to win the year's opening two major championships. Two weeks later, Park won her fifth title of the season at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship when she defeated compatriot Ryu So-Yeon in a sudden-death playoff. The following week, Park won her third consecutive major championship of the year and fourth career major at the U.S. Women's Open. The third consecutive major to start the season is a mark matched only by

Babe Zaharias Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball, and track and field. She won two gold medals and a silver in track and field at the ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

when she won that season's only three majors. The victory was also the third consecutive for Park, a feat last accomplished on the

Lorena Ochoa Lorena Ochoa Reyes (; born 15 November 1981) is a Mexican former professional golfer who played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour from 2003 LPGA Tour, 2003 to 2010 LPGA Tour, 2010. She was the Women's World Golf Rankings#World number ones, top-ranked ...

when she won four consecutive tournaments. The victory was also her sixth championship overall in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2014

In March, Park won the Mission Hills World Ladies Championship, an event on the Ladies European Tour. She won the event by five strokes over defending champion Suzann Pettersen. She also won the events team portion with fellow South Korean, Ryu So-Yeon. They won by twenty-eight strokes combined over the Chinese duo of

Shanshan Feng Shanshan Feng (, ; born 5 August 1989) is a Chinese former professional golfer who previously played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She was the first player from China to become a member of the LPGA Tour, which she joined in 2008. Feng had 10 vic ...

and Xi Yu Lin. The team victory was her second at the event, as Park and teammate

Kim Ha-Neul Kim Ha-neul (; born February 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress. After starting her career as a model, she rose to fame by starring in the films ''Ditto (2000 film), Ditto'' (2000), ''My Tutor Friend'' (2003), ''Too Beautiful to Lie'' (2004), ...

won the previous year. In June, Park won her tenth title on the

when she grabbed victory at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic. She won the event by three strokes over

Cristie Kerr Cristie Kerr (born October 12, 1977) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She has 20 wins on the LPGA Tour, including two major championships, and over $19 million in career earnings. Kerr was the number one-ranked go ...

. The victory was the first on Tour for Park in almost a year when she won at the U.S. Women's Open. In August, Park won her eleventh title on the

and her fifth major championships when she won the

in a sudden-death playoff over Brittany Lincicome. Park defeated Lincicome on the first extra hole with a par for her second consecutive

title.

2015

Park won her 13th LPGA title in the first week of March. She shot a 66 in round one of the

HSBC Women's Champions The HSBC Women's World Championship is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour first held in 2008. It was played on the Garden Course of the Tanah Merah Country Club in eastern Singapore, adjacent to Singapore Changi Airport fro ...

in Singapore and went wire-to-wire to win the championship. After shooting a bogey-free 65 in the final round of the Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi, she shot four straight bogey-free rounds in Singapore. Park, the world No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings, was paired with World No. 1

Lydia Ko Dame Lydia Ko (born 24 April 1997) is a New Zealand professional golfer, member of the LPGA Hall of Fame, and the reigning Olympic champion. She first reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings on 2 February 2015 at of age, makin ...

and World No. 3 Stacy Lewis in the final round. Park had a two-shot lead heading into the final round and finished at 15-under-par with a final round 70. Ko finished two strokes behind Park. Park won her 14th LPGA title at the Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout. She shot a bogey-free six-under 65 in the final round to defeat

of the United States and Park Hee-Young of South Korea by three strokes. In June, Park won her 15th title on the LPGA Tour and her sixth major championship when she won the

, five strokes ahead of runner-up Kim Sei-young. The victory made Park only the second player after

Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 96 international p ...

to achieve the feat of winning three consecutive

s (formerly known as the LPGA Championship). Park won her 16th title on the LPGA Tour at the

Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tou ...

, three strokes ahead of runner-up Ko Jin-young. It was her seventh major title and Park became the seventh player in history to win four different majors, completing a career Grand Slam (per the LPGA Tour policies regarding a career Grand Slam). It should be mentioned that the LPGA Tour decided to declare

The Evian Championship The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...

a major starting in 2013, however, Inbee won the

Evian Masters The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...

, as it was called at the time, in 2012. Many debated whether or not Park's 4 majors should be counted as a Career Grand Slam, but despite the discussions, the LPGA Tour officially stated that Inbee would be credited with accomplishing the rare feat. Park went on to win for the fifth and final time in 2015 on 15 November, after a final round 64 at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. She beat Carlota Ciganda by three strokes. The win was Park's 17th on the LPGA Tour. The following week a strong performance at the season's final event, Park would win her second career Vare Trophy (2012 her first) for the lowest scoring average for the season. The Vare Trophy accomplishment also put Park on the threshold for induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame. The trophy giving her the 27 points required for induction. Park will now have to finish the required ten seasons of play, a mark she is slated to meet in 2016.

2016

Park was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame after competing in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. At 27, she is the youngest player to be inducted. In August, Park became the first woman in 116 years to win an Olympic gold medal in golf, defeating world number 1

by five strokes. This was one of the first Olympic gold medals given out in golf since the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...

. Unlike other sports such as professional tennis, the LPGA Tour will not consider an Olympic gold medal as a Tour title.

2017

In March, Park won the

, and in the process scored a course record of 64 in the final round. The win was Park's 18th Tour title at only of age.

2018

In March, Park won the Bank of Hope Founders Cup, marking the third time a South Korean player has won the competition that was created in 2011. It was her first win since the

in March last year and was her 19th tour title. Park was sidelined by injuries since August 2017. In April 2018, Park finished as a runner-up at the

ANA Inspiration The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour, it is one of the tour's five major championships, and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Sinc ...

, after losing in a sudden-death playoff to Pernilla Lindberg. She came from four strokes behind in the final round to make the playoff alongside Lindberg and Jennifer Song. The playoff needed eight extra holes, over two days, to be decided, before Lindberg claimed victory with a birdie on the eighth extra hole. Park regained the World number 1 spot from

after she finished tied for 2nd at the Hugel-JTBC LA Open in late April.

2020

In February 2020, Park won the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open by 3 strokes over Amy Olson.

2021

In March 2021, Park won the Kia Classic in

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...

on the LPGA Tour for her 21st career victory.

Personal life

Park and coach Nam Ki-hyeop got married in 2014. She gave birth to a daughter in April 2023.

Professional wins (31)

LPGA Tour wins (21)

^Co-sanctioned with the ALPG Tour LPGA Tour playoff record (3–5)

JLPGA Tour wins (4)

LPGA of Korea Tour wins (1)

Ladies European Tour wins (3)

Other wins (4)

*2013 Mission Hills World Ladies Championship – team (with

Kim Ha-neul Kim Ha-neul (; born February 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress. After starting her career as a model, she rose to fame by starring in the films ''Ditto (2000 film), Ditto'' (2000), ''My Tutor Friend'' (2003), ''Too Beautiful to Lie'' (2004), ...

) *2014 Mission Hills World Ladies Championship – team (with Ryu So-yeon) *2015 World Ladies Championship – team (with Ryu So-yeon) *2016

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Major championships

Wins (7)

¹ Defeated Matthew at the third hole of a sudden-death playoff: Park (4-4-3) and Matthew (4-4-x).
² Defeated Lincicome at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff: Park (4) and Lincicome (5).

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order before 2019 or in 2020.'' ^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013 CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 32 (2009 Kraft Nabisco – 2016 ANA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 6 (2012 LPGA – 2013 U.S. Open)

LPGA Tour career summary

^ Official as of the 2022 season
* Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.

Futures Tour summary

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

Team appearances

Professional *

Lexus Cup The Lexus Cup was an annual golf tournament played between 2005 and 2008 for professional women golfers contested by a team representing Asia and an international team representing the rest of the world. It was sanctioned by the LPGA Tour,

(representing Asia team):

International Crown The Hanwha LifePlus International Crown is a biennial women's professional team golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. Eight national teams of four players each (32 players in total) participate in the match play event. Beginning in 2025, the field ...

(representing South Korea):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

References

External links

* * *
Inbee Park at SeoulSisters.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Inbee South Korean female golfers LPGA Tour golfers Winners of LPGA major golf championships Olympic golfers for South Korea Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Golfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in golf South Korean emigrants to the United States Golfers from Seoul Bishop Gorman High School alumni Sportspeople from Murrieta, California 1988 births Living people 21st-century South Korean sportswomen