World No. 1 Park In-bee (AP-Yonhap News)
ROGERS, Arkansas (AFP) ― World No. 1 Park In-bee, rested after an exhausting major victory at the LPGA Championship two weeks ago, tunes up for her next major test at this week’s Northwest Arkansas Championship.
The $2 million LPGA event, a 54-hole showdown with 144 players seeking the $300,000 top prize at 6,389-yard Pinnacle Country Club, is the final event before next week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Southampton, New York.
And with Park having won the year’s first two majors at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and LPGA Championship, this could be a crucial week in the 24-year-old South Korean’s bid to make history.
If Park wins next week, she will match the 1950 major start of Babe Zaharias as the best in LPGA history, and Zaharias won the first three majors in a year when there were only three designated women’s majors.
“This week is a good preparation for next week,” Park said Wednesday.
“Everybody looks forward to that tournament. That’s the biggest tournament of the year. I think it’s just a lot of fun. Even if I don’t win, I’m really going to enjoy myself next week.”
To complete a current LPGA Grand Slam, Park would need to win the U.S. Women’s Open, which she captured in 2008 for her first major title, as well as at the Women’s British Open, where she was runner-up last year, and the Evian Championship, a first-year major in France where she is the defending champion.
For now, Park is just happy to have had a week off after struggling to finish off her LPGA Championship victory.
“Last day I struggled a little bit with my ball striking, so I worked on that a little bit,” Park said. “I was really exhausted after the round. I feel very refreshed coming here after a week of break. I feel ready to go again.”
She spent the week in Florida practicing leisurely with South Korean pal and tour rival Choi Na-yeon.
“I was very lucky to actually have a week off after a major tournament win,” Park said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have a bit of time off and really enjoy myself.”
Park, who shared fourth at the Arkansas event last year, said she feels the pressure of defending her top ranking.
“The No. 1 spot is a lot-of-pressure spot,” Park said. “I feel more pressure than before, of course.
“I always thought that I was very fortunate to actually play for No. 1 every week and that’s something very special.”