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Back-in-form Park returns with a vengence

SINGAPORE — One could not have missed Park Inbee in her striking neon pink outfit at the US$1.5 million (S$2.1 million) HSBC Women’s Champions yesterday, but the South Korean’s performance out on the Sentosa Golf Club’s (SGC) new Tanjong course proved equally — if not, more — attention-grabbing.

Park Inbee's score of  of 10-under 134 puts her one stroke ahead of three players: fellow South Korean Hur Mi Jung, Thailand’s world No 2 Ariya Jutanugarn and Michelle Wie of the United States. Photo: AP

Park Inbee's score of of 10-under 134 puts her one stroke ahead of three players: fellow South Korean Hur Mi Jung, Thailand’s world No 2 Ariya Jutanugarn and Michelle Wie of the United States. Photo: AP

 

SINGAPORE — One could not have missed Park Inbee in her striking neon pink outfit at the US$1.5 million (S$2.1 million) HSBC Women’s Champions yesterday, but the South Korean’s performance out on the Sentosa Golf Club’s (SGC) new Tanjong course proved equally — if not, more — attention-grabbing.

Despite coming off a five-month layoff due to a thumb injury, the Rio Olympics champion who sat out the rest of the 2016 season after that, is on the comeback trail here in Singapore, as she fired off seven birdies for a five-under 67 to leapfrog overnight leader Michelle Wie to the top of the leaderboard. 

Her score of 10-under 134 puts her one stroke ahead of three players: fellow South Korean Hur Mi Jung, Thailand’s world No 2 Ariya Jutanugarn and Wie of the United States. 

Playing through intermittent rain at the SGC course, Park got off to a strong start on the front nine after carding five birdies. 

While an errant shot off a muddy ball on the 12th hole, which resulted in a double bogey, threatened to derail her round, the 2015 champion hung on to pocket two more birdies and finish the day with a second straight five-under 67. 

“It’s a good round today ... Obviously I got off to a very hot start,” said world No 12 Park. “I was able to make some putts early in the round and then I had a little bit of a mistake on No 12.

“I had a couple of birdies on the back nine, so I was able to clean up my mess on the back nine.”

The seven-time major winner was happy to be back in her element in what was only her sixth competitive game since her long break. After all, it was just last month that she finished joint-25th at the Honda LPGA Thailand. 

And the former world No 1 feels like she is just getting started. “I was nervous and excited, because I haven’t played competition golf for a while,” she said. 

“(I) never took that kind of break in my whole career, so it was just something different. I feel like I am not totally warmed up yet … hopefully I can keep these consistent rounds going. 

“I’m always dreaming of myself leading and holding the trophy by the end of the week.”

Park will be wary of the challenge from her LPGA Tour rivals Wie and Ariya, as well as Korean rookie sensation Park Sung Hyun and Suzann Petterson, both of whom will be aiming to close the two-stroke gap over the weekend. 

Defending champion Jang Ha Na and world No 1 Lydia Ko, who are both three shots off the leader, will also be in the hunting pack. 

Wie was happy with her blemish-free scorecard after saving a bunker shot early in her round — she eventually scored a birdie on the par-4 second hole. 

“I definitely just kept very patient out there. It got really frustrating at times just seeing those putts just slip out” she said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow … (I’m going to) try as hard as I can, hit some fairways, hit some greens, make some putts.”

Big-hitting world No 2 Ariya will also be gunning for a good weekend performance, as she said: “Everybody wants to win. It’s a special tournament, but I just want to try to play my own game and have fun.” 

Visit www.hsbcgolf.com/womens for more information on the tournament

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