[2020's Great Challenge①] Park In-bi "Career Super Slam, and Back-to-Back Olympic Golds"

Securing Olympic Gold Medal with Four Different Major Championship Trophies "The Final Puzzle is the Evian Championship"

In February, Park In-bee won the ISPS Australia Women's Open, conquering the milestone of 20 career wins on the LPGA Tour.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] 'Superstar.'

A person who has become an idol to many in the fields of sports and entertainment. Creating new history with overwhelming skills and receiving the spotlight all at once. The global golf world is also filled with 'living legends.' They dominate the field and challenge unprecedented records. Asia Economy Newspaper is running a series called [2020's Great Challenge]. The first subject is 'Career Golden Slammer' Park In-bi (32, KB Financial Group).

Park In-bi has accumulated a total of 20 wins, including 7 major victories on the U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. She debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2007 and caused a sensation by becoming the youngest winner (19 years, 11 months, and 6 days) at the US Women's Open, known as the 'national title of America,' in 2008. It is surprising that she later fell into a severe slump. She turned her attention to the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour, but due to injuries and poor performance, she fell into the position of an ordinary golfer contemplating retirement.

However, she made a spectacular comeback in 2013 with 6 wins (3 majors). It is worth noting that Park In-bi swept the 'major 3 consecutive wins' at the Nabisco Championship in April, the Wegmans LPGA Championship in June, and the US Women's Open in July. It was rather regrettable that the 'Grand Slam' was missed by finishing tied for 42nd at the British Women's Open in August. The Grand Slam has only been achieved once by Bobby Jones (USA), the 'King of Golf,' in 1930, across both men and women.

In August 2015, Park In-bi finally added the British Women's Open trophy and became the first Korean to achieve the 'Career Grand Slam.' In August 2016, she added the gold medal at the Rio Olympics in Brazil, setting a new milestone called the 'Career Golden Slam.' Since tennis professionals joined the Olympics in 1988, players like Steffi Graf (Germany), Andre Agassi (USA), and Rafael Nadal (Spain) have consecutively joined the 'Golden Slam Club,' but she is the first in the golf world.

Park In-bee's next targets are the 'Career Super Slam' and 'Back-to-Back Olympic Gold Medals'.

In June 2016, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the youngest age (27 years, 10 months, and 28 days) by fulfilling the condition of "10 years on tour, 10 tournaments in one season." She is the 25th inductee in history and the second Korean after Park Se-ri (43) in 2007, marking a 9-year gap. This year, she conquered the '20-win milestone' at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open in February. Park In-bi's next target is the 'Career Super Slam,' sweeping all 5 majors. The Evian Championship in September is especially notable as she has experience winning it before it became a major in 2012. It will be held from August 6 in Evian-les-Bains, France.

2021 is the year for 'Olympic back-to-back golds.' Park In-bi won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics, where golf was officially included as an event for the first time in 116 years since the 1900 Paris Olympics. She won by a large margin of 5 strokes over Lydia Ko (New Zealand), who finished second. Due to the variable of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the event was postponed by one year. She said, "Everyone's health and safety are the top priority," and resolved, "I will aim for the gold medal again next year."

If she adds 5 more wins, she will be on par with Park Se-ri, the Korean player with the most wins. With thorough self-management and outstanding putting skills, this is entirely achievable. Her 7 major wins are already a record that other players cannot easily surpass. Her total prize money ranks first among Korean players and fourth all-time ($15,683,289), following Annika S?renstam (Sweden), Karrie Webb (Australia), and Cristie Kerr (USA). Every step Park In-bi takes creates a remarkable record.

Park In-bee is smiling brightly after winning the gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil.

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