Inbee Park had one of the best years ever witnessed in golf last year. Not just in women’s golf, but on any golf tour.
The question is, will she be able to stay ahead of the multitude of talented women golfers nipping at her heels next season?
By winning the first three consecutive women’s major championships of 2013, she added her name to a very short list of golfers that have reached that pinnacle of perfection.
Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Babe Zaharias, legends all in golf history, are the only other golfers to have won the first three major championships in a single season.
Park also added three regular season titles to her phenomenal year. Six wins, three majors and $2.4 million in earnings made her the LPGA Tour Player of the Year.
She also finished the year in the No. 1 spot on the Rolex Rankings, ahead of Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis.
The intense media pressure seemed to be a bit much for her, however, as she did not win after her U.S. Women’s Open victory in June.
Speaking of Pettersen and Lewis, they won the remaining two major titles of 2013. They both finished the year strong and are looking to continue their good play in 2014.
Pettersen won the Evian Championship, had four wins on the LPGA Tour plus a win on the Ladies European Tour last year. She is No. 2 in the world, finished second to Park on the LPGA Tour money list with $2.2 million and appears to be on a mission to catch Park.
Lewis had three wins, including the Women’s British Open, and finished in the top-10 in 19 of her 26 starts on the LPGA Tour. She won $1.9 million for the year and is No. 3 in the world.
Right behind this “Big 3” of women’s golf is super-teen Lydia Ko.
Ko, who had climbed to No. 4 in the world as a teenage amateur, announced her decision to turn professional in October.
She didn’t waste any time and won her second event as a professional at the Swinging Skirts Ladies Masters in Taiwan.
Lexi Thompson also finished the year strong. After a third-place finish at the Evian behind Pettersen and Ko, she posted wins at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia and the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
Improved putting to go along with her length and superb iron play helped to finish the year as the No. 9 ranked woman golfer in the world.
In addition to these determined ladies, Na Yeon Choi, So Yeon Ryu, Shanshan Feng, Karrie Webb and I.K. Kim can compete at the highest levels on the LPGA and want to grab the top spot for themselves.
2013 was historic, as well as, entertaining on the LPGA Tour. The addition of Ko in the professional ranks and the steady improvement of younger players adds depth to the women’s game and pressure on Park.
Additional tournaments on the tour schedule and bigger purses next season will help increase the excitement level on the LPGA Tour in 2014.