Seven-time major winner and former Olympic champion Inbee Park is going to become a mother. The South Korean star announced on Instagram that she and her husband are expecting their first child together.
“We are thrilled to announce that we will be welcoming new member of our family,” Park wrote in her Instagram post. “Thank you all for so much support and love.”
Park, 34, last competed in August when she finished tied for 22nd place in the AIG Women's Open. In total, Park played just 15 times during the 2022 season and had an uncharacteristic set of results, with five missed cuts and just three top-10 finishes.
She has won 21 times in her LPGA career, including seven major titles (three in 2013 alone), and is a member of the points-based LPGA Hall of Fame.
She has been married to her husband, Gi Hyeob Nam, since 2014.
If she chooses, Park will be able to return to the LPGA with the same status she enjoyed in 2022. The LPGA maternity policy was updated in 2019 to give players two years from the date of the baby’s birth to return to competition with the same status they had entering the season of maternity. They then have 12 months to compete at that status. All five majors on the LPGA Tour also now have maternity clauses that exempt a player into the championship who qualified for the previous year but did not compete due to maternity.
Caroline Masson and Hee Young Park are fellow LPGA players who are set to welcome their first children in 2023 as well.
