SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. - Inbee Park set many golfing goals. Etching her name alongside Babe Zaharias was never one of them.
Yet now they’re the only two players to win the first three majors of the year. Park became the first to accomplish the feat in the modern era Sunday with her second U.S. Women’s Open title.
“Trying to put my name next to hers means just so much,” Park said. “I would think I would never get there; it’s somewhere that I’ve never dreamed of. But all of a sudden, I’m there.”
The world’s top-ranked player finished at 8 under to win by four strokes. Her 2-over 74 in the final round was more than enough, with Sebonack’s trying conditions keeping any rivals from making a run. Only three players were under par for the tournament.
Fellow South Korean I.K. Kim also shot 74 for her second runner-up finish at a major.
Kim entered the tournament No. 6 on the LPGAmoney list, but jumped all the way to second with her $350,000 paycheck. One of those she leapfrogged was Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks), who shot a final round 78 to finish at 12-over 300, earning $15,430.
Zaharias won the year’s first three majors in 1950 - back when there were only three. Now there are five, so Grand Slam might not quite be the right term if Park wins all of them.
Ahead by four strokes at the start of the round, Park birdied the ninth and 10th holes to extend her lead. She has won six times already this year, including three consecutive tournaments. Park won her first major in 2008, when she became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women’s Open at age 19.
“I didn’t know what was going on at that time,” said Park, who has won 6 of 13 starts in 2013 with more than $2.1 million in earnings. “I played very good golf then, but I didn’t know what I was playing for, and that was just my first win. It was a great championship then, but now I think I really appreciate more and I really know what this means.”
So Yeon Ryu shot 72 to finish third at 1 under. South Korean players took the top three spots and have won the last five majors.
Ryu and Na Yeon Choi, the last two U.S. Women’s Open champs, sprayed Park with champagne after she made her final putt on the 18th green.
Sebonack was a classically troublesome U.S. Women’s Open course with lashing wind and tricky greens. And once Park built a lead, nobody could mount a charge.
She certainly wasn’t going to make enough mistakes to come back to the field. Park had 10 bogeys and no double bogeys in four rounds.
She predicted Saturday that shooting even par in the final round would be enough, and she sure was right.
Four players shot under par Sunday - though that was still more than the third round, when only Park achieved it.
Kim birdied No. 2 to pull within three strokes; she couldn’t claw closer. And when she bogeyed the fourth hole, the deficit was back to four shots.
Park bogeyed the sixth and seventh, but so did Kim.
Kim had what would have qualified as a sensational week if not for Park, finishing at least three strokes better than everyone but the player currently dominating the sport.
“You can obviously feel for someone like I.K. Kim who would be winning any other U.S. Open on this golf course if it weren’t for Inbee,” said seven-time major champion Karrie Webb.
Asked if she feels she’s on the verge of a major breakthrough, Kim paused for a moment then said: “Yeah, to be honest, yeah, it’s time to win it.”
Americans Paula Creamer (72) and Angela Stanford (74) and England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff (76) tied for fourth at 1 over. Shadoff was alone in third at 3 under after the third round but opened Sunday with three consecutive bogeys.
Soon-to-be Oklahoma State player Casie Cathrea shot 70 on Sunday to match Shanshan Feng for the best round of the day and finish as the low amateur at 9 over. Lydia Ko, the 16-year-old New Zealander who won the Canadian Open last August to become the youngest LPGA Tour winner, was next at 11 over.
Park also became the second player to win the U.S. Women’s Open after victories in her previous two tournaments. Mickey Wright did it in 1964.
Park, 24, won the Kraft Nabisco and LPGA Championship for her first two major titles of the year. Up next is the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews on Aug. 1-4.
The Evian Championship is Sept. 12-15. Park won the French event last year before it became a major championship.
Leaderboard U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN At Sebonack Golf Club Southampton, N.Y.
Par 72, 6,821 yards Purse: $3.25 million (a-amateur) Final round Inbee Park ........... 67-68-71-74-280 I.K. Kim ............... 68-69-73-74-284 So Yeon Ryu ....... 73-69-73-72-287 Paula Creamer ..... 72-73-72-72-289 Angela Stanford .. 73-68-74-74-289 J. Shadoff ............ 70-69-74-76-289 Brittany Lang ....... 76-69-73-72-290 Jessica Korda ...... 70-71-76-73-290 ARKANSAN Stacy Lewis ......... 71-76-75-78-300 - Complete results, 6C
Sports, Pages 15 on 07/01/2013