'Number 2' Park In-bee "Next Target is a Major"... Olympic Back-to-Back Wins?

Challenging 2 Consecutive Wins at Season's First Major ANA Inspiration on Night of 1st, Ultimate Goal is Back-to-Back Tokyo Olympic Golds in August

Park In-bee is taking a selfie immediately after winning the Kia Classic. Carlsbad, California, USA = Photo by Getty Images/Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist] "ANA, and the Tokyo Olympics."

The new target of 'Golf Empress' Park In-bee (33, KB Financial Group). She opened the season on a high note by winning the Kia Classic (total prize money $1.8 million) on the LPGA Tour, her first outing this year. On the final day held on the 29th (Korean time) at Aviara Golf Club (par 72) in Carlsbad, California, USA, she shot 2-under par to secure a commanding 5-stroke victory (14-under par 274). She also achieved a 'wire-to-wire' win, leading the tournament from start to finish over four days.

This marks her 21st career victory, making her the 25th player in LPGA Tour history to reach this milestone, and she is now just 4 wins shy of Park Seri (44), who holds the record for the most wins by a Korean player with 25. However, Park In-bee stated, "I don't try to break anyone's record," and introduced her focus as "concentrating on increasing my major wins." The ANA Inspiration, the first major of the 2021 season, continues on the night of the 1st at Rancho Mirage Golf Club (par 72) in California. She expressed confidence, saying, "My father dreamed of me winning two consecutive tournaments," and "I've already achieved half of that."

It is interesting that Park In-bee is already looking toward 'defending her Olympic gold medal.' In August 2016, she won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics in Brazil, achieving the remarkable 'career golden slam.' While tennis professionals have joined the Olympics since 1988, with players like Steffi Graf (Germany), Andre Agassi (USA), and Rafael Nadal (Spain) consecutively joining the 'career golden slam club,' Park is the first in golf, male or female.

The starting point is the 'career grand slam,' which involves winning four different major championships. Park In-bee notably achieved a 'major three-peat' in 2013 by winning the Nabisco Championship in April, the Wegmans LPGA Championship in June, and the U.S. Women's Open in July. However, she finished tied for 42nd at the AIG Women's Open (British Women's Open) in August, missing out on the grand slam, which left some regret. She finally claimed the AIG Women's Open title in August 2015.

With this recent victory, securing an 'Olympic ticket' has become highly likely. She rose to world No. 2, making her the second-ranked Korean player after Ko Jin-young (26), who is No. 1. Although only two players per country can participate, as of June, Korea has four players ranked within the 'top 15.' Following Park In-bee are Kim Sei-young (28, Mediheal) at No. 3 and Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte) at No. 9, with Park Sung-hyun (28) at No. 12 also eyeing a chance. Park In-bee revealed her special desire, saying, "The Olympics always provide great motivation."

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