BETHESDA, MARYLAND | They don’t sell more honestly, which is refreshing in any profession these days but extraordinary in the sport. Ask athletes to share their innermost feelings about anything and you’re likely to have appearances ranging from bewilderment to contempt. At a time when the world seems to live on Me Island and every sentence starts with “I,” athletes are known to talk non-stop about themselves without saying anything.
Next up is our last major champion, In Gee Chun, who captured the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a shot at her side neighbors in Irving, Texas, Minjee Lee and Lexi Thompson. Unlike most 27-year-olds, Chun tells you everything. It’s an open book – honest, serious, intellectual, and the kind kind soul that makes you feel honored to meet her.
Throughout the week, it was a breath of fresh air. Ask him out well if he is no longer absorbed in the connection. “I’m very happy,” he said. He pulls out the 75 he fired on Saturday, reducing his lead from 7 shots to three, and said, “I have to put that aside and remember that I still have an advantage and be happy with that.” Ask her about cooking for her neighbors, Minjee and Sei Young Kim, and she laughs before saying, “I’m working on seasoning the steak now.”
So when asked on Sunday how he felt about taking a three-shot lead in the first four holes of the final round and making the turn after losing the lead for the first time since 10:30 p.m. Thursday morning, Chun threw no. punches.
“The first nine holes I had a lot of pressure on, so to be honest, I couldn’t enjoy playing golf,” she said with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship trophy on her side. “But I thought that if I stuck to my game plan and then I thought I would have a chance in the last nine. So I tried to stay there. I’m so happy I got it. My body is still shaking, but “.
So was everyone else. Chun opened up such an important advantage in the first 45 holes that it looked like this would be a runaway. At one point on Saturday, he was 11 below parity, a figure no one saw coming to the Congressional Country Club when the week began. But major sites have a way of repressing themselves. Chun made a couple of sloppy swings on Saturday afternoon and finished the day at 7 under par, three ahead of Thompson and Hye-Jin Choi.
A 40 on the new striker on Sunday and it looked like he had moved away from her.
“So I want to tell the truth,” Chun said afterwards. “I couldn’t control all the pressure. That’s why I had four bogeys (up front). At the same time, you know, this course is never easy. The Congressional Country Club is a tough golf course and we had tough positions. Sometimes my golf is not perfect. Today, it has only been (not perfect) in the first nine “.
Then he laughed and said, “Golf is never easy. Still, I can’t believe I’ve won. That’s why I feel so emotionally now.”
In the mark of a champion, Chun fought. He played the tough last four holes to 1 under par, which was enough for the win.
“At the time, I thought, ‘Gee, if you never give up, then you can achieve something.’ It just doesn’t break under pressure. Just keep doing what you’re doing. ‘”.
It’s been a long road. Chun last won the 2018 HanaBank Championship in his home country, South Korea. Prior to that, he earned majors in 2015 and 2016.
“When I got into a fall, some people said,‘ In Gee, you should retire because your game isn’t good right now. But no matter what they said, I thought I could win again. I’m very proud now. “
She has always been open, even about some of the struggles she had earlier in her career with depression. When asked what this victory meant, not only for his career but for his personal journey back, he was very excited.
“I’m happy because my sponsors, they always believed in me,” he said. “I know it’s never easy, so I’m very grateful to all my sponsors. Then my family and my coach, my managers, my friends, never gave up on me, no matter how I did it, so I was really looking forward to winning the last two years.
“I really appreciate everyone. When I got into a fall, I was really looking forward to leaving golf, but not for them. I stayed with him. I kept playing. That’s how I won this week. That’s why I’m so grateful.”
Grateful and honest. How refreshing.