Park In-bi Tears in Overtime "Regretful, 20th Career Win" (Comprehensive)

Diamond Resort Final Day Even Par Runner-up, Hataoka and Lopez After 5th Sudden Death Playoff 'Sunset'

Park In-bee is making an iron shot on the 4th hole on the final day of the Diamond Resort Tournament. Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is the tearful extension for 'Golf Queen' Park In-bee (32).

On the 20th (Korean time), at the Four Seasons Golf & Sports Club in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA (par 71, 6,645 yards), the final day of the LPGA Tour 2020 season opener, the Diamond Resort Tournament (total prize money $1.2 million), Park shot an even par and tied with Hataoka Nasa (Japan) and Gaby Lopez (Mexico) at 13-under 271. However, she made a fatal mistake by hitting her tee shot into the water on the third hole of the playoff at the 18th hole (par 3).

Her dream of winning her 20th LPGA Tour title, her first in 1 year and 10 months since the Founders Cup in March 2018, was shattered. This is a 'champion of champions' event where players who have won in the past two years and celebrities compete in a pro-am format. A total of 26 players participated, and the winner is decided by 72-hole stroke play. Park started with a 2-stroke lead, exchanging 2 birdies and 2 bogeys. After a shaky start with consecutive bogeys on holes 2 and 3, she finally made her first birdie on the 8th hole (par 4).

She maintained par for seven holes, then made a birdie on the 16th hole (par 4) to tie for the lead, but ultimately failed to claim the winner's trophy. Despite boasting a perfect tee shot accuracy rate of 100%, her iron shots faltered, resulting in a greens-in-regulation rate of only 72%. Especially, her putting, which is her specialty, rose to 32 putts. Unlike previous years, the 'Golden Slammer' Park In-bee participated in this season opener to earn points for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in August.

By June, she needs to be ranked within the top 15 worldwide and within the top 4 among Korean players. Currently, she is 16th overall and 6th among Koreans, following No. 1 Ko Jin-young (25), No. 2 Park Sung-hyun (27), No. 5 Kim Se-young (27), No. 7 Lee Jeong-eun6 (24), and No. 13 Kim Hyo-joo (25). Her runner-up finish in this tournament is expected to boost her world ranking. Aiming to defend her Olympic gold medal, she plans to compete in more than 15 tournaments by June. "Although the result was somewhat disappointing, the content up to the third round was good," she said. "I gained a lot of confidence."

Hataoka and Lopez failed to settle the match with pars through five playoff holes. Eventually, as night fell, they will continue to the sixth playoff hole starting at 10 p.m. that night. Brooke Henderson (Canada) tied for 4th place (12-under 272), Annie Park 6th (11-under 273), and Lexi Thompson (all USA) tied for 7th (10-under 274). Korean player Heo Mi-jung (31) showed remarkable effort, sweeping up 10 birdies (2 bogeys), including 3 consecutive birdies, to finish tied for 4th.

Her fierce finishing power was also evident with two pairs of consecutive birdies on holes 13-14 and 16-17. Kim Se-young's attempt at back-to-back wins ended tied for 7th. She lost one stroke with 5 birdies, 4 bogeys, and 1 double bogey. Yang Hee-young (31) tied for 15th (5-under 279), defending champion Ji Eun-hee (34) and Jeon In-ji (26) tied for 24th (3-over 287). Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand) suffered the humiliation of finishing last in 26th place (8-over 292).