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Park Inbee wins Women’s British Open, completes career grand slam

August 2, 2015
Tears of joy -- Inbee Park of South Korea wipes away tears holding the trophy after winning the Women's British Open golf championship at the Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

Tears of joy — Park Inbee of South Korea wipes away tears holding the trophy after winning the Women’s British Open golf championship at the Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

TURNBERRY, Scotland (Yonhap) — South Korean golfer Park Inbee completed the career grand slam on the LPGA Tour by capturing the Ricoh Women’s British Open Sunday.

Park rallied to capture her seventh career major at 12-under 276, beating fellow South Korean Ko Jin-young by three strokes, after putting together a steady final round of seven-under 65 at Trump Turnberry Resort. Park cashed in $450,000 in the winner’s check.

Park, ranked first in the world, became only the seventh LPGA golfer to win four different majors at least over a career, joining Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam.

Those golfers accomplished their feats while the tour had four majors. In 2013, the Evian Championship became the fifth major.

With Park having earlier won the three other majors over her career — ANA Inspiration, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open — the tour has said winning at least four different majors in the current era would constitute a grand slam, while winning all five would be called ‘a super slam.’

Park won the Evian in 2012, one year before it earned the major designation.

It was Park’s third win of 2015 and 12th this season by South Koreans, a record for one LPGA season.

Park began the final round at five-under, three shots behind co-overnight leaders, Ko Jin-young and Teresa Lu. Park had a quick start with back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes, before giving two shots back right away with bogeys on fourth and fifth holes.

Ko, a 20-year-old Korean LPGA (KLPGA) member playing in her first major, parred the first six holes, and then moved to 10-under with an eagle on the par-5 seventh to open a two-shot advantage over the field.

Park poured in four straight birdies starting on the seventh to get to nine-under, but Ko, with a birdie of her own on the 10th, now led Park by three strokes.

The tide turned dramatically over the remaining holes. Playing ahead of Ko, Park picked up an eagle on the par-5 14th, and when Ko committed a bogey on the 13th, the two South Koreans were suddenly tied.

Park went up by one with a birdie on the 16th. Ko then shot herself out of contention with a double bogey on the same hole, after finding a creek in front of the green with her second shot on the par-4 hole.

Ko ended alone in second place at nine-under after a 71, while another South Korean Ryu So-yeon tied South Korean-born New Zealander Lydia Ko for third place at eight-under.