RIO DE JANEIRO -- Inbee Park could tell right away Wednesday that this was not an ordinary golf tournament.
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.Walking onto the practice range, the South Korean flag on her red
shirt and the Olympic rings just about everywhere she looked, the
jangled nerves made her realize that playing in the Olympics -- the
first for womens golf since 1900 -- brought the kind of pressure she
doesnt usually feel.On the golf course, Park was as unflappable as
ever.Facing top competition for the first time in two months, Park was
flawless in a round of 5-under 66 that left her one shot behind Ariya
Jutanugarn of Thailand.Seiyoung Kim of South Korea also shot a 66.I was
able to feel a lot of the players nerves when I was on the range and
when I was playing out there, Park said. I havent played in a while, but
this is not what I usually get all the time. I was able to tell --
everybody was quite proud to represent their country and quite excited
and quite nervous at the same time.Jutanugarn, a four-time winner coming
off her first major at the Womens British Open, kept her calm during a
wild ride.She pulled a 6-iron into the native area left of the green on
the par-3 fourth hole and made double bogey, quickly erasing birdies on
the previous two holes. Jutanugarn followed with another 6-iron to 8
feet for eagle on the next hole, and she was on her way.I had one
double, but I felt OK, Jutanugarn said. I want to play my game and not
worry about it.A short birdie putt on the 16th gave her a one-stroke
lead after an opening round noted for the heat and laborious pace of
play. It took the final threesome just over 5? hours to complete the
opening round.For the second straight week, a Brazilian native opened
the golf competition. Miriam Nagl was picked to hit the first tee
shot.Being in my home country and golf being back in the Olympic Games
... its just very special to me, she said. Nagl and Victoria Lovelady,
the two Brazilians in the 60-player field, each shot 79.Womens golf was
last part of the Olympics in 1900 in Paris, and then it was only a
nine-hole competition among 10 women.These games are all about the South
Koreans, who have dominated womens golf for the last generation. The
maximum four players who qualified are among the top 10 in the womens
world ranking, and there has been talk back home about sweeping the
podium.Being a Korean womens golfer, I think we always have that kind of
pressure on our shoulders, Park said. Its hard, because we play 30
events a year, and there isnt many weeks where all Korean golfers finish
1, 2, 3. Being able to do it in the Olympics would be something unreal,
but obviously its going to be something thats very, very hard to do
with all the great competitors around the world.At the same time, it is
pressure for a lot of us, she said. It is a really hard one. But you
know, we really cant help it.Spain got off to a strong start behind
Carlota Ciganda (67) and Azahara Munoz (68), and Lexi Thompson led the
three Americans at 68. Lydia Ko, the No. 1 player in womens golf, got
into the picture only late in the day when she holed out with a 9-iron
from 135 yards for eagle on the par-4 15th hole.It was my first eagle at
the Olympics, Ko said after a 69. So I think its great.Park, 27, last
competed on a big stage two months ago at the KPMG Womens PGA
Championship, where she became the youngest player to qualify for the
LPGA Hall of Fame. Park missed the cut and skipped the next two majors
because of a thumb injury that has been bothering her all year.The time
off allowed her to get ready for the Olympics. Park felt good in
practice and carried that to the course, looking much like the player
who has won seven majors.Park never came seriously close to bogey. Her
bid for a fourth straight birdie spun out on the 13th hole, and she
missed a 6-footer on the next hole. Park missed six birdie chances from
10 feet or under, though that presented more hope than frustration.I
always like to deal with missed opportunity than not even having an
opportunity, she said.
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MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez
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SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Athletes come and go, but few change
their sport. Se Ri Pak -- who is retiring after this season and whose
appearance in this weeks U.S. Womens Open at CordeValle likely will be
the last time she competes in America -- did.You could say Pak is the
Arnold Palmer of the Republic of Korea, but that might not be giving her
enough credit.Before Pak arrived on the scene in 1998, both a complete
player and a complete surprise, one South Korean, Ok-Hee Ku, had won one
LPGA tournament, the Standard Register Turquoise Classic, a decade
earlier.Ku, who died in 2013 at 56, was a pioneering figure in womens
golf in her home country and instrumental in establishing a tour there.
But her victory, coming only a few months before the 1988 Summer
Olympics in Seoul, received little attention.That did not happen when
Pak, only 20 years old and an LPGA rookie, won the McDonalds LPGA
Championship and, in particular, the U.S. Womens Open, in 1998. Pak
lifted the Open trophy at Blackwolf Run in Wisconsin after a 20-hole
playoff with Jenny Chausiriporn.After Paks Open victory, womens golf
became a very big deal in South Korea, where people tend to immerse
themselves in their pursuits, working diligently to become as good as
they can be. A generation of Korean girls, encouraged by their parents,
was attracted to golf and many of them became very, very good at a sport
for which Pak was instantly a beacon and barometer.Forty Korean-born
players have won 149 of the 561 LPGA events held since Pak outlasted
Chausiriporn, a contingent that includes In Gee Chun, who was 20 when
she won last years U.S. Womens Open.Shes a hero to all the Korean
players, Chun said. Her U.S. Open win was a motivating factor for all
the Korean junior players and parents. Thanks to her win, all the Korean
players have come so far. And the Korean golf industry has grown a
lot.American Stacy Lewis, an 11-time LPGA winner and currently No. 8 in
the Rolex Rankings, credits Paks influence with stabilizing the tours
very existence when it was hurting for sponsors not long ago.Without the
Korean and Asian TV rights, this tour four or five years ago might not
be here anymore. We were at a point where we had 23 events and I think
half of those were in Asia. So the Asia market basically supported us
there for a couple of years and allowed us to get to where we are now.
Se Ris a huge part of that.Pak triggered a globalization of womens golf
in which Koreans played the lead. Five of the worlds top 10 players are
Korean, 10 of the top 20. Since 2012, Koreans led by Inbee Park -- the
Pak of her time -- have won 11 majors, more than twice as many as
golfers from the U.S. (five). Koreans have captured the U.S. Womens Open
seven of the past 11 years, and since Pak won at Blackwolf Run, 11
other Koreans have won at least one major.It all started with that
long-ago Open playoff triumph, vivid in Paks mind. Thats the best moment
I eveer, ever had, she said.
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. Feels like yesterday, too. I have seen the video over and over. It
makes me cry still.Paks impressive record -- 25 victories, including six
major titles -- can make it seem as if it came easy for the
38-year-old, but nothing can be further from the truth. In a long,
candid session with reporters at CordeValle on Wednesday, Pak
articulated how consuming the sport has been and the hidden costs of
achievement.People thought I was such a success at a very young age,
making a lot of money, Pak said. I dont think Ive been a happy person
ever. After winning [a tournament], that moment Im holding the trophy,
Im so happy because thats just the way I want it. And then back at the
hotel, I feel lonely.Heather Daly-Donofrio, the LPGAs chief operations
officer, was a rookie player in 1998 with Pak and saw the sacrifice that
went into the success.I was always amazed by Se Ri and other players
who came from overseas, Daly-Donofrio said. They could leave their
homes, come to the United States, travel , leave everything that they
knew, not knowing the language, the culture or anybody else on tour.To
Daly-Donofrio, Pak put not only South Korea, but lots of other countries
as well, on the golf map.Not only did she inspire players from Korea,
Daly-Donofrio said, but it had a trickle effect. Players from other
countries, from Thailand or Japan or China, said if Se Ri could do it,
they could, too.For Paks younger countrywomen, the appreciation is deep.
She created this generation of Inbee and So Yeon Ryu and all those
girls, Lewis said. Now youve got the even younger ones coming out that
are inspired by Inbee. And Se Ris the one to thank for it all. Shes the
one that came over by herself and didnt speak much of the language and
figured it out and kind of became the mold to all the other players to
follow. And all those girls realize it. Theyre always thanking Se Ri.
They know it, and thats the coolest part about it.Just like Pak is
grateful for what Ku did for her.Without her, I dont think Im here and
all the Korean golfers arent going to be here, Pak said. Shes my
hero.After retiring from competition, Pak hopes she can teach as well as
inspire, to convince Korean tour professionals to find a balance in
their lives that has been elusive for her. She plans to move from
Orlando, Florida, back to her homeland to pass on lessons that she has
learned.Im trying to share my life, Pak said, having [them] learn from
all my career. Everybody works so hard. They put 110 percent into the
game, every single day, every single hour. But you dont have to do it
24/7. I used to be that way. But the most important thing is you have to
really enjoy it. When you enjoy it, youll have better success.If Paks
message gets through, it might be her biggest victory.
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