RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Inbee Park is taking a gold medal back to South Korea to show anyone who doubted whether she should play in the Olympics.
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Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee called Park’s win “definitely an “in your face victory” given all the pressure she was facing”.
“To stand on that podium would be nearly more than I could imagine”.
She is a four-time victor on the LPGA Tour this year, the best player in women’s golf and finally got some confidence in her putter. Shanshan Feng of China shot 69 and took the bronze. There was talk of the South Korean golfers sweeping the podium, a ridiculous notion, but one that nonetheless was not out of the realm of possibility. On the par-5 closing hole, Park’s tee shot found a bunker and it took three more shots to reach the green.
She already had lost a three-shot lead in gusts up to 30 miles per hour Saturday at Olympic Golf Course.
Park skipped the last two LPGA majors, the U.S. Women’s Open and a title defense at the Women’s British Open, to nurse a season-long nagging left thumb injury back to good enough health to compete.
“I feel like I have a chance at this”, she said. I really enjoyed being out here.
“I feel extremely honoured and proud that I get to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games”, she told a media conference.
28-year-old Park, who is the LPGA’S youngest hall of fame qualifier, capped off an exceptional performance after recovering from injuries that kept her off the course for two months this year. Unlike most golf tournaments, the Olympic competition is unique in that in the event of a tie at first, second, or third place, there would a playoff for the medals. Stacy Lewis birdied the 16th and 17th holes, but missed a 15-foot birdie on the 18th and shot 66, one shot behind Feng.
This final round, however, was all about Park.
Aside from the fact it involved nine birdies and an ace, Verchenova’s round was impressive because she had only broken par once over the previous three days and her course-record round took her from a tie for 41st at 5-over to a tie for 16th at 4-under 280.
The two battled for the No. 1 ranking – now held by the 19-year-old Ko – for the better part of two years.
China’s Lin Xiyu became the first female player to make an Olympic hole-in-one on the 154-yard par three eight – before Ko did likewise on the same hole. Park answered with a 6-iron to 3 feet for another birdie. It was like that all day.
The former world No. 1 and victor of seven major championships was an unflappable front-runner the last three rounds and capped off her victory with a final-round 5-under-par 66.
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“Coming back from an injury and not playing and not being competitive, that’s a hard thing to do”, Lewis said.
