Park Sung-hyun made a striking return to the LPGA Tour's upper ranks with her performance at the Standard Portland Classic in Oregon, signaling a potential career resurgence.

On the final day of the LPGA Standard Portland Classic held at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Oregon, on August 18, Park recorded one eagle, seven birdies, and two bogeys, finishing with a 7-under 65.

With an aggregate score of 16-under 272, Park secured a tie for 7th place.

This marks Park Sung-hyun's first LPGA Tour top ten finish since she placed 8th at the AIG Women’s Open in August 2019, a full six years ago.

Since 2015, Park has claimed 10 victories on the KLPGA Tour. After transitioning to the U.S. circuit, she achieved two wins in 2017, three in 2018, and two more in 2019, at one point ascending to world number one.

Notably, she claimed major titles at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. In 2017, she made headlines as only the second player after Nancy Lopez (1978) to capture all three of the LPGA’s top annual honors—Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and the Money Leader’s title—in the same season.

However, from the second half of 2019, Park’s form declined, and in 2021, she missed the cut in more than half of her 19 events.

In 2023, a wrist injury sidelined her from competition, and this year, she has made the cut in only two out of eleven tournaments.

Earlier in August, Park managed a strong result at the KLPGA Tour’s Samdasoo Masters in Jeju, finishing tied for 11th. She shared after the event, “I gained a lot of confidence.”

Returning to America, Park continued her positive momentum, breaking into the top 10 at her first LPGA event back—the Portland Classic—signaling a fresh chapter in her career.

After the round, Park reflected, “I started off very well today, but made some short putt mistakes on the back nine. I feel like I could have finished even higher.”

At one point during the fourth round, Park surged to second place, briefly entering title contention. “Rather than focusing on scores, I tried to concentrate on each shot, and I gained a lot of confidence,” she said.

She added, “The course and green conditions made it feel like it would be easier for the ball to drop, which was a good feeling.”

However, with her LPGA Tour membership set to expire at the end of this year, Park must accumulate enough points to finish inside the top 80 in the standings to retain her card. Before the Portland Classic, she was ranked 147th in points.

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=Yonhap News