Who is Grace Park? All you need to know about the retired LPGA South Korean golfer

Jie Eun Park, also known as Grace Park in the United States, played in the LPGA Tour from 2000 to 2012. She won six events in that duration, including a major championship in 2004.

Park turned professional in 1999 and played on the Futures tour. She won half of the events she entered making her one od the first golfers to get LPGA tour exempt status by finishing on top of list.

Park has a total of 11 wins across her professional career, five in the Futures Tour and six in the LPGA Tour including the 2004 Kraft Nabisco Championship. She won that tournament with a margin of just one stroke against her fellow countrywoman Aree Song. She also represented Asia in the Lexus Cup in 2005 and winning the cup with the Asian team in 2006.

Grace Park lifting the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship trophy (image via Getty)

Grace's illustrious career has fifty-eight top 10s; this is despite the fact that she had to battle through back pain in 2005. She had to step away from competition to recover from multiple surgeries trying to fix the issues that racked her body due to excessive play.

“It’s my own fault for not taking care of my body,” Park said. “I picked up this game when I was 8 years old, have been competing since I was 10. I really never had any time off.”

Park had a twenty year long career in golf which ended at the Wegmans LPGA Championship in 2012, she stood on the 18th tee and fired a 265 yards drive which led to a chip which perfectly positioned the ball to lead to a 6-inch tap in and a standing ovation.

Grace Park appointed athlete role model in the 2014 Youth Olympic Games

Park joined 36 other athlete role models that were supporting over 3800 young athletes at the Youth Olympic village. The honour was bestowed to her by the International Golf Federation. Park's job was to teach and assist Golf athletes present at the village to deliver their best perfomance at the 2014 games.

Grace Park at at a meeting during IGF Sport Initiation Programme Activities (image via International Golf Federation)

The Olympic Games' format consists of 60 men and 60 women playing as individuals. The top three in each field wins an Olympic medal while representing their country on the most prestigious stage of international sports.

Meanwhile, the upcoming 2024 Olympic games are to held in Paris and the Golf matches are going to be held at Le Golf National, the home of Ryder Cup.