Heeyoung Park's Unexpected Drama "I Thought About Quitting Golf..."

Park Hee-young is drinking champagne immediately after winning the ISPS Handa Vic Open. Geelong, Australia - Photo by Getty Images/Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] "I even thought about quitting golf...".

This is the reversal drama of Park Hee-young (33). On the 9th, at the ISPS Handa Vic Open (total prize money $1.1 million) of the LPGA Tour held at the Thirteenth Beach Golf Links Beach Course (par 72, 6,276 yards) in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, she defeated Choi Hye-jin (21) and Yoo So-yeon (30) in a sudden-death playoff to claim her third career victory after a long 6 years and 7 months since the Manulife Financial Classic in July 2013. She became the oldest Korean winner, surpassing Ji Eun-hee (34, 32 years 8 months 7 days), at 32 years 8 months 16 days.

"Last year, I had the worst performance and even had to go to the Qualifying (Q) Series," said Park Hee-young, "I thought a lot about quitting golf after getting married. Fortunately, I passed the Q Series, and with the support of my husband and family, I am so happy to have won," she cheered. She debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2008 and maintained her tour card with consistent performances, but fell into the worst slump last year. She played in 16 tournaments, missed the cut 5 times, and her best finish was tied for 12th at the Bay International.

She fell to 110th in season earnings ($103,327), losing her LPGA Tour eligibility that she had maintained for 12 years, and dropped to the Q Series but succeeded in re-entering by finishing second. "I never stopped," she said, smiling brightly, "This victory feels like a gift from God." As a veteran, she showed even greater strength in difficult conditions with strong winds. "I thought I just needed to keep the fairway and greens and make pars," she explained, "Fortunately, that strategy worked well."

At the Manulife Financial Classic, she also defeated Angela Stanford (USA) on the third hole of a playoff. She is a 'clutch player' who has won 2 of her 3 career victories in playoffs. "This week, with strong winds, I didn’t change anything and kept repeating the same shots and techniques," said Park Hee-young, "So I had confidence that I could do well. I didn’t give up until the end, and that led to a good result," she smiled. She will aim for back-to-back wins at the Australian Women’s Open on the 13th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.