By Brian Yalung
Sung Hyun-Park regained the top spot in the Women’s World Golf Rankings recently and it appears she plans to stay there for some time.
The 25-year-old Korean was introduced as the new brand ambassador for Solaire Resort and Casino Tuesday night, four days since clinching her sixth LPGA title.
Her latest win has installed her the overwhelming favourite in The Country Club (TCC) Invitational Golf Tournament which started yesterday.
But for the South Korean golfing sensation, she is not taking the field lightly.
“I don’t think I will have an easy time this week. I should do my best and just keep playing my own game like I always do – as I do in every tournament,” said Park.
It appears that Park has some trouble believing that she is the top golfer in her class today. She admits that everything happened quickly but will nevertheless continue to do her best in any tournament.
“I still can’t believe that I became top world ranking number one. I think it came so quickly. But I feel I just have to do my best. Better and better for the rest of the season,” she said.
Park is also hoping to win a major title.
She was a bit surprised when she was asked about her mother threatening to pack her bags due to a poor start and the other is why her throng of fans call her Nambala.
“I’m pretty surprised that you know that story that my mom packed my stuff. So in the 2017 US Open, after the first round, I didn’t play that well. So my mom started packing my stuff. And after seeing her packing my stuff I couldn’t say anything. I just thought that I have to finish strong,” Park explained.
“That actually stimulated me and helped me work it into a positive influence — that I could finish strong,” Park added.
As for why people call her Namdala, Park explained that it was a name given to her since birth. It meant being different from others.
“I’ve been given the name, Namdala since I was young. My coaches in the past, they told me that in order to be successful, you have to be different from others. Namdala actually means ‘different from others’” Park explained.
Park considers Tiger Woods as one of her inspirations although his career was not smooth sailing. The top-ranked golfer was asked on how she can avoid making the same mistakes.
“One of my mottos is to do what I can do. I believe that if I always keep in mind that, if I keep doing what I can do, that would also help my career,” said Park.
