Inbee Park’s first tournament appearance in more than two months will be historic this week at the Korean LPGA Tour’s KB Financial Star Championship outside Seoul.
Park, who has not played in competition since the Ricoh Women’s British Open in early August because of a back injury, will qualify for induction into the Korean LPGA Tour’s Hall of Fame with her start this week.
“Once Park competes in the KB Financial Star Championship, she will have enough points to be honored as a Hall of Famer,” a KLPG official told Chosun Media in a story published Wednesday.
Park will become just the fourth player inducted since the KPGA Hall of Fame was formed in 2004. She will join Se Ri Pak, Jiyai Shin and the late Ok-hee Ku as inductees.
Park, 29, earned induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame last year. She also won the Olympic gold medal for golf last year. Her medal is displayed at her father’s packaging company outside Seoul.
While Park has won 18 LPGA titles, including seven major championships on the American-based tour, three Ladies European Tour titles and four Japan LPGA Tour titles, the former world No. 1 has never won a KLPGA Tour event. Park moved to the United States when she was 12 to begin playing American Junior Golf Association events, won the U.S. Girls’ Junior at 14 and joined what is now called the Symetra Tour when she was 17. She joined the LPGA a year later.
Though Park’s management team says Park’s back is feeling better now, she does not plan to play any more LPGA events this year, to continue to rest and rehab, though she may tee it up at the Champions Trophy event in South Korea in November, a team competition pitting KLPGA players against Korean members of the LPGA.
Source: Internet
