It’s been more than six months since the LPGA Tour has seen the dominant Queen Bee. The last time Inbee Park teed it up, the former Rolex Rankings No. 1 won the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open on Feb. 16, her 20th Tour title and first in almost two years. Since that win, Park has lived a relatively quiet life back in the Republic of Korea, playing only twice competitively during the Tour’s hiatus. She did not venture to the United States when the Tour resumed in Toledo, Ohio, and admitted she was nervous about traveling until learning the safety protocols of the AIG Women’s Open.
“Coming here and being in a tournament site and the hotel, they are doing a great job of sanitizing everything and the LPGA Tour is doing a great job of keeping everyone from outside the community,” said Park. “I really feel safe being in the golf tournament at the moment. You've just got to be careful when you travel, and just you try to have, you know, less contact with a lot of people. I think that's what we can do. Having a golf tournament, I'm sure the sponsors have made a tough decision to hold the tournament, so as a player, if the situation allows, I think it's a good thing to play in it for them, as well.”
Upon making the decision to compete this week at Royal Troon, the 2015 AIG Women’s Open champion went with her husband, Gi Hyeob Nam, on the bag due to the travel restrictions to Scotland. Park said it is only a temporary endeavor, before her regular caddie Brad Beecher joins her for next week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Nam has few experiences caddying for Park, most recently twice before this week back in Korea.
“He's not a professional caddie, so sometimes he gives me wrong yardage. Sometimes when it rains, he can't really do a lot of things at once. He makes mistakes, but he gives me a lot of comfortable feelings on the golf courses,” said Park. “And especially when I'm not swinging well or not stroking well, he can give me an advice straightaway at the golf course and fix it straightaway. It's a good thing. It's not going to be an every-week thing, but I'm really happy to have him maybe like once a year would be a nice experience.”
As Park attempts to win the #AIGWO title for a second time, she’s happy to have a familiar face keeping her present as she takes on the links. “It's fun. He's never really made like a major, major mistake yet,” said Park, “But I mean, everything is forgiven. He's my husband, you know.”
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