Park became just the fifth player to claim Open and U.S. Girls Junior wins. Photo: Darren Carroll
"I just tried to play my game and not think that it was the U.S. Women's Open," she said about her steely focus. "I tried to white it out from my head and it worked. I've been in the last group a couple of times this year, and I did not play good on the last day, just gave it away all the time. You've got to learn from your mistakes, and that's what I did. I am very confident now and I think I can do it again."
But the most select group Park joined was the small group of players to have won both the U.S. Girls' Junior and the U.S. Women's Open. The others are Mickey Wright, JoAnne Carner, Amy Alcott and Hollis Stacy. All but Stacy are in the Hall of Fame -- and she won 18 times, including three Opens.
Of course, Pak is still the queen of Korean golf, with five majors among her 24 PGA victories. But the words of thanks directed her way by Park Sunday may well be echoed down the road by other members of the Korean contingent born in 1988, a decade before possibility flickered on a television screen and little girls locked in on the future.
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