EDINA, Minn. — Inbee Park woke up in the middle of the night 10 years ago when she heard cheering from the living room of her tiny apartment outside Seoul.
Her parents were up at 3 a.m. to watch Se Ri Pak become the first South Korean and the youngest winner of the U.S. Women’s Open. The 9-year-old girl sat down with them to watch, half asleep, but definitely paying attention.
“When she made a putt, they were screaming,” Park said. “So I really could not sleep.”
Two days later, she placed her tiny hands around a golf club for the first time.
On Sunday, Park wrapped hands around the biggest trophy in women’s golf, capturing the U.S. Women’s Open with nearly flawless golf over the final 10 holes as everyone else melted away.
“I didn’t know anything about golf back then, but I was watching her,” Park said. “It was very impressive for a little girl. I just thought that I could do it, too.”
Two weeks shy of her 20th birthday, Park replaced Pak as the youngest Women’s Open champion. She pulled away with crucial putts on three straight holes — two birdies and one par — early on the back nine and added a final birdie for a 2-under-par 71 and a four-shot victory over Helen Alfredsson.
Park was the only player in the final nine groups to break par. She finished at 9-under 283.
