At the top of the leaderboard for the U.S. Women’s Open
are the usual names: Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie and various
other professionals. Down a few spots from those names comes an
unfamiliar one: Jane Park.
In just her sophomore year at UCLA, Park has already put her
name in the spotlight alongside the greats of women’s golf.
With a score of 9-over par for the tournament, Park tied for the
best among amateurs, and was the only Bruin ““ past or present
““ to make the cut.
After the second round, Park was tied for third with Michelle
Wie and Shi Hyun Ahn at even par and was poised to make a run at
first place, but was unable to sustain the level of play. She shot
a 75 (4-over) in the third round Sunday morning, and was 6-over in
the afternoon round.
Park ultimately finished tied for tenth in the Open, a
remarkable feat for an amateur. She tied Duke’s Amanda
Blumenherst for the title of best amateur, but after them it seemed
to be all professionals. At the very bottom of the scoreboard was
Texas A&M’s Ashley Knoll at 20-over for the third-best
amateur score.
Last year, Park missed the cut for the Open, but this year she
was actually tied for first after an opening-round 2-under. Her
performance this year was a marked contrast to last year’s
Open, in which she got off to an inauspicious start with a
first-round 81, putting her at 10-over. This year, it was her fast
start score of 69 that propelled her to the top of the amateur
leaderboard.
Park, who has just completed her first year for the Bruins, led
the team last year in scoring. With an average of 73.1 strokes per
round, Park was tied with Tiffany Joh for first on the team. She
also had five top-ten finishes in tournaments and had a total of
nine rounds under par for the year.
Probably one of the best amateur golfers in the country, Park
won the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship after
finishing in second place the previous year. However, the U.S.
Women’s Open marks the first professional tournament success
Park has had. Last year, she finished 50th in the Kraft Nabisco
Championship and 58th in the Canadian Women’s Open.