Golfer Park In-bee returns home with Olympic gold

INCHEON, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) — Olympic golf champion Park In-bee returned home to South Korea to a hero’s welcome on Tuesday.

Park was crowned the first Olympic women’s golf champion in 116 years, with a comfortable five-shot victory over the world No. 1 Lydia Ko in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. The victory made Park the only golfer, male or female, with an Olympic gold and a career grand slam — which entails winning four different majors at least once.

“In Korean time, I played the game early in the morning,” Park said after she arrived at Incheon International Airport. “But I’m thankful to fans who supported me and gave me a lot of energy.”

Park had mulled over skipping the Olympics as recently as June because of issues with her left thumb, and decided just last month to compete at the Rio Games. Before flying to Brazil, she even missed the cut at a Korean tour event.

The 28-year-old said she had to make a change after her final tune-up event.

“I tried to get my mind straight,” she said. “I couldn’t make accurate shots, so I studied what I should do to recover my sense of swing.”

Park said she removed the taping on her injured finger a week before the Olympics and endured the pain while playing.

“When you have taping on your fingers, you feel less pain, but you lost an acute sense,” she said. “When you focus on the game, there’s no problem.”

Park said she also received great support from her husband, Nam Ki-hyeop, who is also her swing coach. With Nam’s instructions, the golfer said she made a slight change to her swing and it turned out to be a success even in putting.

“My husband gave me courage,” she said. “He is the most precious person to me.”

Park said she was dealing with the pressure every round and added that the Olympic golf tournament was one of the most difficult competitions in her career. Park rarely expresses her emotions during the game with a poker face, but after finishing her final round, she raised her two arms up for the celebration.

“All the tough moments went through my head,” she said. “I was proud of myself for overcoming the pressure of representing my home country.”

Park knew she was getting better after she made a hole-in-one during the practice round. She was at practice when Justin Rose of England was receiving his gold medal at the medal ceremony of the men’s golf competition.

“I knew Justin Rose made a hole-in-one and won the gold medal,” she said. “I also thought about winning the gold medal.”

Park, who moved up one spot to No. 4 in the latest world rankings, said she has yet to decide her next tournament. Since her finger is not 100 percent, she said she will first focus on recovering her fitness.

“I want to compete at the Evian Championship next month, but I have to see the situation,” she said. “I will have to decide on my return after healing.”

South Korean golfer Park In-bee shows her gold medal at Incheon International Airport in Incheon on Aug. 23, 2016, as she returns home from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.