Park, who turned 24 the same day she made the comment, is making her first Korea LPGA (KLPGA) Tour appearance in a year this week at the OK Savings Bank Se Ri Pak Invitational hosted by the World Golf Hall of Famer and South Korean golf pioneer. (Image: Yonhap)
YANGJU, South Korea, Sept. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – In pursuit of multiple individual awards, LPGA Tour’s rookie sensation Park Sung-hyun said Thursday she’s most eager to grab the scoring title at the season’s end.
Park, who turned 24 the same day she made the comment, is making her first Korea LPGA (KLPGA) Tour appearance in a year this week at the OK Savings Bank Se Ri Pak Invitational hosted by the World Golf Hall of Famer and South Korean golf pioneer.
Pak won the LPGA Rookie of the Year in 1998 after capturing four tournaments, including two majors. This year, Park, on the strength of her U.S. Women’s Open title and one other tour victory, is a shoo-in for the top rookie award herself.
But the one award Park has her eyes on is the Vare Trophy, given annually to the player with the lowest scoring average.
Park trails the current scoring leader, Lexi Thompson, by 69.092 toThompson’s 69.015 strokes per round. There are seven LPGA tournaments left this season.
“I try not to get caught up with individual titles, but people remind me all the time,” Park said at a pretournament press conference at Lakewood Country Club in Yangju, north of Seoul. “Whenever that happens, it puts extra pressure on me. But I must admit I do want to win them, and I’d love to capture the Vare Trophy in particular.”
Park, world No. 2, is also leading the LPGA Tour in money, with winnings of just over US$1.9 million, while fellow South Korean and world No. 1 Ryu So-yeon is in second place at $1.79 million.
(Yonhap)
