LPGA 태극낭자군의 에이스격인 박인비선수(29)는 이번주 LPGA Hugel-Jtbc LA Open에서
공동 2위를 함으로서 12위에 머무른 지난주까지의 세계랭킹 1위 Shan Shan Feng을 제치고
30개월만에 Rolex 세계랭킹 1위에 복귀했다.

비록 이번대회에 공동 2위로 우승을 놓쳤지만 이번 월드랭킹 1위 복귀는 보나스격인셈이다. top
선수들의 격차가 많이나지 않아 당분간 춘추 전국시대의 양상을 나타낼 조짐이다.

박인비 선수는 지난 2년간 부상으로 고생하다가 오랜 휴식끝에 금년 시즌을 시작했는데 오랜 휴식으로
녹슨 경기를 우려했는데 두번째대회인 Founder's Cup에서 우승을 시작 지난 5개 대회중 4대회에서
우승,2위(2),3위등으로 2013년 이후 전성기를 맞는듯 하다. 역시 박인비 선수는 박인비 선수다.

박인비 선수의 복귀 활약으로 그동안 조금은 침체 되었던 LPGA 태극낭자군에 새 활력소가 된듯하여
기쁘다. 박인비 선수는 이밖에 LPGA Official money,Race to CME Globe,Player of
the year등을 리드하고 있어 금년 박인비선수의 활약이 기대된다.

세계랭킹 1위에 복귀한 박인비선수에게 큰박수를 보낸다.     규정

Date:Apr 19–22, 2018

Course: Wilshire Country Club

Purse:

$1,500,000

Leaderboard

Final

Pos	Player		R4	Thru	Total
1		M. Jutanugarn	-3	F	-12
T2		J.Y. Ko	-1	F	-10
T2		I. Park	-3	F	-10
4		S.Y. Ryu	-3	F	-7
T5		E. Ji

태극기가 펄펄 날립니다. 

Once again Korea is dominating!

Here is a nice article regarding Inbee Park becoming No.1 player
of the World 4th time in her career from LPGA.com    KJ

Inbee Park Reclaims No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., April 23, 2018 – For the fourth time in her
record-setting LPGA Tour career, Inbee Park, of the Republic of
Korea, has taken the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf
Rankings. Park ascends to No. 1 following her tie for second at
the 2018 HUGEL-JTBC LA Open.

Park, 29, moved from third in the Rolex Rankings to first, passing
Shanshan Feng, who held the position for the last 23 weeks, and Lexi
Thompson, who was second for eight consecutive weeks. This marks Park’s
93rd week atop the Rankings and her first since Oct. 19-25, 2015, a span
of 2 years, 5 months and 29 days. That is the longest period between No.
1 rankings in the history of the Rolex Rankings; the previous longest
stretch belongs to Stacy Lewis, who went 1 year, 1 month and 19 days
between stints at No. 1 (April 14, 2013, to June 2, 2014).

Park, who won the 2018 Bank of Hope Founders Cup, reached Rolex Rankings
No. 1 for the fourth time in her career, the most individual times at No.
1 since the Rankings were first published on Feb. 21, 2006. At 29 years,
9 months and 11 days of age, she is the oldest No. 1 player since Cristie
Kerr in 2010, who was 33 years and 13 days old.

“It’s good to be back, obviously, in the No. 1 spot,” said Park, a native
of Seoul who now makes her home in Las Vegas, Nev. “That really wasn’t my
goal playing this year; it just came as a present. So it’s great.

But everything, all the rankings are so close together. It can change every
week. It’s just hard to keep track. I’m just trying to play golf, and doesn’t
matter where I am at. But if I can get back to the No. 1 spot, that’s good.”

Park is enjoying one of the most celebrated careers in LPGA Tour history.
Since joining the Tour in 2006, she has 19 LPGA wins, tied for 28th in history,
including seven majors. In 2016, she won the gold medal at the Summer Olympic
Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after not competing for more than two months
due to a thumb injury. That same year, she became the youngest player ever to
qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame at age 27.

In 2012 and 2015, Park won the LPGA Tour’s Vare Trophy, which is presented to
the player with lowest scoring average. She earned Rolex Player of the Year
honors in 2013, a season that saw her take major victories at the ANA Inspiration,
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and U.S. Women’s Open.

After sitting out much of 2017 with a back injury, Park quickly reclaimed her
stellar form in 2018. She has four top-10 finishes in six events, including her
victory at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup and her runner-up finish to Pernilla
Lindberg at the ANA Inspiration after an epic eight-hole playoff. Through nine
events, Park leads the Tour in rounds under par at 87.5 percent (21 of 24 rounds)
and is first in the Race to the CME Globe, Rolex Player of the Year and Official
Money standings.

Park is in the field for this week’s LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship at Lake Merced Golf
Club in San Francisco, and beginning Thursday, her caddie, Brad Beecher, will don
the Rolex Rankings Green Bib traditionally worn by the caddie of the world’s top
female golfer.

Park turned professional in 2006 after a decorated junior career that saw her win
multiple elite amateur events. She reached the LPGA Tour in 2007 after finishing
third in the Symetra Tour’s 2006 Race for the Card.

Written By:LPGA Communications

                      The green Rolex No. 1 caddy bib

Ron Sirak@ronsirak

Ron Sirak is recipient of the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award and the LPGA Media Excellence Award. He's covered more than 150 major championships for The Associated Press and Golf World magazine and co-authored three Vision54 books with renown teachers Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson.



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There have been eight sister acts in the 68-year-history of the LPGA and only once – Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam – have both siblings managed a victory. Until now. Add to that exclusive club the Jutanugarn sisters as Moriya joined Ariya in the winner’s circle Sunday with a two-stroke victory over Inbee Park and Jin Young Ko in the HUGEL-JTBC LA Open. 

Playing in the shadow of the famed “Hollywood” sign at historic Wilshire Country Club, this was truly the stuff of the movies as Jutanugarn, 23, gave an Oscar-worthy performance to hold off not only Ko but Park and her 19 career wins to join her 22-year-old sister, who has won seven times, as an LPGA champion. 

The envelope please…  

And the winner is…  

Moriya Jutanugarn…  

Finally… 

“Just a lot of patience out there,” Moriya said after a two-putt par on the final hole ended a 68 that put her at 12-under-272 with Park and Ko at 274. So Yeon Ryu was fourth at 277 with Emma Talley and Eun-Hee Ji at 278. “I just kept doing what I’m doing and it finally happened. My sister cried more than me. I can’t tell you how I feel right now.” 

Playing with a serene calm, Jutanugarn won in her 156th career start. She began the final round tied with Ko and two strokes ahead of Park. Over the last seven holes it was a four-person race between Jutanugarn, Park and Ko – who played together – joined by Ryu.  

Moriya made a bunch of crucial putts on the slick, treacherous greens but perhaps none was bigger than her 15-footer for birdie on No. 12 that extended the lead to three over Park and Ko. It was a statement that Jutanugarn, who had three top-10 finishes this year and 21 in her career, was not going to go away easily this time. 

She followed that birdie on No. 12 with a slippery 8-footer down the slope for another birdie on No. 13 that moved her four clear of Park and three ahead of Ko, who also birdied. There have now been nine events in this LPGA season with nine different winners from five different countries as the depth of golf’s global tour continues to impress.

Under the pressure of trying to get her first LPGA victory and under the pressure of being chased by Park – a Hall of Famer – and Ko – who had already won this year – Jutanugarn made no bogeys until No. 16 in a surgically perfect round. The precision with which she played made it feel very much like this might be the start of something big.

While Park was not able to take the title she reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Ranking after a two-year absence in part because of injury, ending Shanshan Feng’s 23-week reign. Inbee, who did not have her A game, uncharacteristically missed a few fairways and, even more surprisingly, missed a few birdie putts normally in her make zone and still shot 68. 

Annika Sorenstam won 72 LPGA events while Charlotta captured one title. Marlene Bauer Hagge had 26 wins and Alice Bauer none. Donna Caponi took home 24 trophies while Janet Caponi LePera was shutout. Danielle Ammaccapane was victorious seven times and Dina failed to win. Jessica Korda has five titles while Nelly has yet to break through. Aree and Naree Song are both winless as are Numa and Russy Gulyanamitta.

Jutanugarn pretty much sealed the deal with a 12-foot birdie on No. 15 that maintained her lead at three strokes over Ko, who birdied from 10 feet, and moved her five clear of Park with three holes to play. Very much in the Think-Box, Play-Box mode of the Vision54 peak performance philosophy of her coaches Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, Moriya brilliantly played one shot at a time. 

“Mo54 has incredible grit,” Nilsson said after Jutanugarn’s victory. “Personality wise, she is like Annika – steady, stays with her plan, hard working. We had a good chat before today’s round about what her playing focus would be. Her skill level is so high in all parts of golf. She has all the shots and her Think-Box, Play-Box, Memory-Box were perfect.” 

Getting that first win is never easy and when Jutanugarn bogeyed No. 16 and Park birdied, Moriya was two up on Ko and three clear of Park with two holes to play. Then she had to endure a 10-minute wait on the 17th tee. But she drove safely down the left side – away from the water hazard – missed the green but made a rock-solid 5-foot par save to maintain a two-stroke lead going to the par-3 closing hole. 

Joined by her sister over the last few holes as Ariya popped up in the gallery, Moriya made her younger sibling proud and they shared an emotional hug with their mother on the 18th green. What could make for a better movie? How about a Moriya versus Ariya shootout somewhere down the road? Now that would be a Hollywood ending. And the winner is...