At 19, Park is youngest to win Women’s Open

EDINA, Minn. -- The youngest U.S. Women’s Open winner in history introduced herself to the record books and a largely unknowing public as the tournament’s 63rd champion Sunday, when Inbee Park walked softly over Interlachen Country Club to claim her first victory and her first major title.

Only 19, and inspired to take up golf by fellow South Korean Se Ri Pak’s landmark U.S. Open victory in 1998, Park broke out of a pack of Parks -- she was one of six who played here -- and won easily. Her closing round of two-under 71 was worth a four-shot victory over Helen Alfredsson.

Park earned $585,000 and put up four consistent rounds of 72-69-71-71, but her nine-under total of 283 wasn’t as much about a number as a quiet expression of expert course management. And it was definitely not a show of brute force on the long and difficult Interlachen layout.

“This is very, very special for me, and I will never forget this moment,� Park said. “I really can’t believe I did this. This is great.�

No one had fewer than Park’s total 115 putts, and even though her driving average of 268.2 yards was only average, her steadiness was her greatest asset.

“I tried to stay focused and try to stay calm all day.�

Alfredsson, who began the day tied for third with Park behind Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer, finished with a 75 and moved up. So did Angela Park, whose 73 tied for third with Lewis and In-Kyung Kim, five shots behind the winner.

“She played fantastic,� Alfredsson said of the winner. “She was very calm, never changed anything. And really, that’s very impressive for a 19-year-old.

“That really is what is the key in a tournament like this, just to keep plugging along . . . whoever can do that, my hat’s off. But I was more impressed with her game. She’s going to win a lot more.�

On a blustery day, the final-round scoring average of 76.16 was nearly two shots higher than Saturday’s third round.

Those who failed to find their way at Interlachen -- and they were many -- know all about that.

It is both the measure and the meaning of golf that it does not automatically reward those who beseech it the most. That is why Creamer remains in search of her first major title, her five-over 78 adding up to disappointment instead of a victory that was within her reach.

Creamer started the day only one shot from the lead and ended it six shots back and in a tie for sixth place.

Two double bogeys on the front nine, including a chunked chip at the second and an exasperating experience at the diabolically tilted ninth green, ensured that Creamer would remain the top player in the women’s game without a major title.

“But you learn from these,� Creamer said. “Just honestly, it was not my day. Inbee played awesome. She really did, two under par today, that’s a heck of a round out there.

“It’s probably like I’ve said a couple times, it’s probably the most disappointed I’ve been in a very long time.

Giulia Sergas and Nicole Castrale of Palm Desert were not disturbed by the swirling conditions and wound up tied for sixth with Creamer and Mi Hyun Kim.

Lewis, playing her first tournament as a professional, made just about everything she looked at Saturday and missed just about the same number Sunday.

The 23-year-old would have made history as the first to win a major in a pro debut, but the record-setting on Sunday was left to Park.

Park’s first name was previously In-Bee, but she dropped the hyphen so she would be more easily recognized. As a U.S. Open champion, that goal is certainly accomplished.

Park was a star as a junior player in Eustis, Fla., winning two U.S. Girls Championship as well as the American Junior Golf Assn. Junior Girls Championship. She requested an exemption to play the LPGA Tour at 16 but was turned down, then turned pro in 2007 after she graduated from high school, joining the Futures Tour.

Park, who lives in a golf course community in the Las Vegas area and attended Nevada Las Vegas, turns 20 on July 12, but the distinction of being the youngest Open champion is hers.

The youngest prior champion was her role model, Pak.

She remembers being awakened in the middle of the night in her home in Seoul by her parents’ cheers for Pak as they watched the television coverage of the 1998 Open. Two days after Pak’s victory in a playoff at Blackwolf Run, 9-year-old Inbee touched a golf club for the first time.

She dedicated her victory Sunday to Pak.

“Watching Se Ri, it was very inspirational for a little girl.�

A forgettable week became something to remember for Annika Sorenstam, or at least the ending did.

Sorenstam, who is retiring at the end of the year, said goodbye to the U.S. Open for the 15th and final time when she holed out for eagle from the fairway at the 18th, a six-iron from 199 yards.

The ball took two big hops, a couple of little ones, and then rolled straight into the hole.

Sorenstam finished with a 78 and in a tie for 24th.

“Living with another great memory, that’s for sure,� she said.

“This is definitely a signature shot. To break 80, you know.�

If Sorenstam was disappointed by her week, so was Lorena Ochoa, who assumed Sorenstam’s spot as the No. 1 player in the rankings but played nothing like it.

Ochoa’s closing 74 left her in a tie for 31st and gave her pause to consider what went wrong. But Ochoa knows the British Open is coming up at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, England, where she will defend her title, and she said there would be no aftereffects from Interlachen.

“I’ll be ready for that,� Ochoa said.

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