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 Golf returns to the Summer Games in Rio next year for the first time
since 1904, with 60 players qualifying for the men's and women's
events.
The top 15 in the world qualify automatically, with a limit of four
per country, and the remaining places go to the highest ranked
players from countries that do not already have two golfers
qualified.
According to International Golf Federation rankings, Park would
currently be joined by LPGA Tour rookie Kim Hyo-joo, Ryu So-yeon and
Amy Yang, although qualification places will not be decided until
next year.
None of the four can take their spots for granted, though, with Lee
Mi-rim, Kim Sei-young, Choi Na-yeon, Baek Kyu-jung and Jang Ha-na
all inside the world top 20.
Park said the incredible run of victories on the LPGA Tour this
season, which would rise to nine of 11 with the inclusion of South
Korean-born Kiwi Lydia Ko, could be a reflection of the desire to
grab a coveted Olympic berth.
"I don't know the exact cause, but maybe it's because players are
concentrating really hard right now with the Olympics coming up next
year," South Korea's Yonhap News quoted Park as saying.
"The way the players look at it, the qualification period for the
Olympics has already begun so they are really concentrating hard and
pushing each other."
Park said the impressive performances of Tour rookies Kim Hyo-joo
and Kim Sei-young had also been a reminder to established players
that they had to keep improving or risk being left behind.
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At 19, Kim Hyo-joo already has a major to her name after winning the
2014 Evian Championship while she was still playing on the Korean
Tour, and she earned her second LPGA victory at the JTBC Founders
Cup in March.
Kim Sei-young, 22, is a two-time winner this season and would have
claimed her first major at last month's ANA Inspiration but for a
meltdown in the final round.
"The rookies on the LPGA Tour this year like Kim Sei-young and Kim
Hyo-joo have really motivated the players who have been here for a
while," said Park, who at 26 has already claimed five majors and
almost $11 million in prize money.
"Watching them put in these great performances we are saying to
ourselves, 'we can't afford to stand still'."
(Reporting by Oh Seung-yun; Writing by Peter Rutherford; Editing by
Nick Mulvenney)
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