2006 In 2006, after graduating from
Bishop Gorman High School in
Las Vegas, Nevada, Park appealed to the
LPGA for permission to attempt to qualify for the LPGA as a 17-year-old. LPGA rules generally require that a player be 18 to join the Tour. The LPGA denied Park's request, so she enrolled at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas but soon after dropped out and turned professional, playing on the
Duramed Futures Tour where the age of entry had been lowered to 17 in late January. In
2006, she recorded 11 top-10 finishes on the
Futures Tour. She finished third on its season-ending money list to earn exempt status on the
LPGA Tour for the
2007 season.
2007 During her rookie season in
2007, Park tied for fourth at the
U.S. Women's Open and tied for second at the
Safeway Classic. She finished 37th on the money list and fourth in the rookie of the year standings. In 2007, Park also changed the English spelling of her name from In-Bee to Inbee.
2008 In
2008, Park won the
U.S. Women's Open at
Interlachen Country Club in
Minnesota for her first LPGA win. At 19, she was the youngest player to win the title, and finished four strokes ahead of runner-up
Helen Alfredsson.
2009–12 After her breakout year in 2008, Park struggled in
2009, recording only four top-10 finishes and ending the season 50th on the LPGA official money list. In 2010, Park had top-10 finishes in all four major tournaments, won twice on the LPGA of Japan Tour and finished the season ranked 12th in the
world rankings. Park's results in
2011 did not match those of the previous years. With no top-five finishes on the LPGA Tour, she sunk to 31st on the official money list and 27th in scoring average. She won once on the JLPGA Tour, at the Daikin Orchid Ladies. Park bounced back from her 2011 slump in
2012. She had two wins on the LPGA Tour, finished in the top-three in 10 out of 23 tournaments she played, and topped the LPGA in both money earned and scoring average.
2013 Park won her fourth LPGA Tour event in the second tournament of the year at the
Honda LPGA Thailand event by a single stroke. She shot a final round 67 to come from four back to finish a shot ahead of
Ariya Jutanugarn. In April, Park won her second major title with a four-stroke victory at the
Kraft Nabisco Championship over compatriot
Ryu So-Yeon. The following week, she became the top ranked golfer in the
Women's World Golf Rankings. Park won her sixth LPGA Tour title and third of the year a couple weeks later at the
North Texas LPGA Shootout. She holed a four-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to edge out
Carlota Ciganda by a stroke. In June, Park won her second consecutive major of the year and third career major at the
LPGA Championship at
Locust Hill Country Club. After a 36-hole final day of regulation play, Park defeated
Catriona Matthew on the third sudden-death playoff hole to clinch the victory. She started the third round a shot ahead of
Morgan Pressel. Park became the seventh player in LPGA Tour history to win the year's opening two major championships. Two weeks later, Park won her fifth title of the season at the
Walmart NW Arkansas Championship when she defeated compatriot
Ryu So-Yeon in a sudden-death playoff. The following week, Park won her third consecutive major championship of the year and fourth career major at the
U.S. Women's Open. The third consecutive major to start the season is a mark matched only by
Babe Zaharias in
1950 when she won that season's only three majors. The victory was also the third consecutive for Park, a feat last accomplished on the
LPGA Tour in
2008 by
Lorena Ochoa when she won four consecutive tournaments. The victory was also her sixth championship overall in
2013.
2014 In March, Park won the
Mission Hills World Ladies Championship, an event on the
Ladies European Tour. She won the event by five strokes over defending champion
Suzann Pettersen. She also won the events team portion with fellow South Korean,
Ryu So-Yeon. They won by twenty-eight strokes combined over the Chinese duo of
Shanshan Feng and
Xi Yu Lin. The team victory was her second at the event, as Park and teammate
Kim Ha-Neul won the previous year. In June, Park won her tenth title on the
LPGA Tour when she grabbed victory at the
Manulife Financial LPGA Classic. She won the event by three strokes over
Cristie Kerr. The victory was the first on Tour for Park in almost a year when she won at the
U.S. Women's Open. In August, Park won her eleventh title on the
LPGA Tour and her fifth
major championships when she won the
LPGA Championship in a sudden-death playoff over
Brittany Lincicome. Park defeated Lincicome on the first extra hole with a par for her second consecutive
LPGA Championship title.
2015 Park won her 13th LPGA title in the first week of March. She shot a 66 in round one of the
HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore and went wire-to-wire to win the championship. After shooting a bogey-free 65 in the final round of the
Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi, she shot four straight bogey-free rounds in Singapore. Park, the world No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings, was paired with World No. 1
Lydia Ko and World No. 3
Stacy Lewis in the final round. Park had a two-shot lead heading into the final round and finished at 15-under-par with a final round 70. Ko finished two strokes behind Park. Park won her 14th LPGA title at the
Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout. She shot a bogey-free six-under 65 in the final round to defeat
Cristie Kerr of the United States and
Park Hee-Young of South Korea by three strokes. In June, Park won her 15th title on the LPGA Tour and her sixth major championship when she won the
Women's PGA Championship, five strokes ahead of runner-up
Kim Sei-young. The victory made Park only the second player after
Annika Sörenstam to achieve the feat of winning three consecutive
Women's PGA Championships (formerly known as the LPGA Championship). Park won her 16th title on the LPGA Tour at the
Women's British Open, three strokes ahead of runner-up
Ko Jin-young. It was her seventh major title and Park became the seventh player in history to win four different majors, completing a
career Grand Slam (per the LPGA Tour policies regarding a career Grand Slam). It should be mentioned that the LPGA Tour decided to declare
The Evian Championship a major starting in 2013, however, Inbee won the
Evian Masters, as it was called at the time, in 2012. Many debated whether or not Park's 4 majors should be counted as a Career Grand Slam, but despite the discussions, the LPGA Tour officially stated that Inbee would be credited with accomplishing the rare feat. Park went on to win for the fifth and final time in 2015 on 15 November, after a final round 64 at the
Lorena Ochoa Invitational. She beat
Carlota Ciganda by three strokes. The win was Park's 17th on the LPGA Tour. The following week a strong performance at the season's final event, Park would win her second career Vare Trophy (2012 her first) for the lowest scoring average for the season. The Vare Trophy accomplishment also put Park on the threshold for induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame. The trophy giving her the 27 points required for induction. Park will now have to finish the required ten seasons of play, a mark she is slated to meet in 2016.
2016 Park was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame after competing in the
KPMG Women's PGA Championship. At 27, she is the youngest player to be inducted. In August, Park became the first woman in 116 years to win an Olympic gold medal in golf, defeating world number 1
Lydia Ko by five strokes. This was one of the first Olympic gold medals given out in golf since the
1904 Summer Olympics. Unlike other sports such as professional tennis, the LPGA Tour will not consider an Olympic gold medal as a Tour title.
2017 In March, Park won the
HSBC Women's Champions, and in the process scored a course record of 64 in the final round. The win was Park's 18th Tour title at only of age.
2018 In March, Park won the
Bank of Hope Founders Cup, marking the third time a South Korean player has won the competition that was created in 2011. It was her first win since the
HSBC Women's Champions in March last year and was her 19th tour title. Park was sidelined by injuries since August 2017. In April 2018, Park finished as a runner-up at the
ANA Inspiration, after losing in a sudden-death playoff to
Pernilla Lindberg. She came from four strokes behind in the final round to make the playoff alongside Lindberg and
Jennifer Song. The playoff needed eight extra holes, over two days, to be decided, before Lindberg claimed victory with a birdie on the eighth extra hole. Park regained the World number 1 spot from
Shanshan Feng after she finished tied for 2nd at the
Hugel-JTBC LA Open in late April.
2020 In February 2020, Park won the
ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open by 3 strokes over
Amy Olson.
2021 In March 2021, Park won the
Kia Classic in
Carlsbad, California on the LPGA Tour for her 21st career victory. ==Personal life==