Immigrant of the Day: Inbee Park (South Korea)

Inbee Park (b. July 12, 1988, in Seoul) is a professional golfer.

Park began playing golf at the age of 10. After moving to the United States, she won nine events on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit and was a five-time Rolex Junior All-American. She was a semifinalist at the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. Park won the 2002 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and finished as runner-up in both 2003 and 2005

In 2006, after graduating from high school, 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 recently been lowered to 17.  In 2006, Park recorded 11 top-10 finishes on the FUTURES Tour. She finished third on the FUTURES Tour season-ending money list to earn exempt status on the LPGA Tour for the 2007 season.

During the 2007 season, Park tied for fourth at the U.S. Women's Open and tied for second at the Safeway Classic.

On 29 June 2008, Park won the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minnesota for her first LPGA win. At 19, she was the youngest player to win the title. In four rounds, she shot 72-69-71-71 to score 9-under-par, winning the tournament by 4 strokes.

For more about Inbee Park, click here.