She tried to oblige every one of them before the crush became too big, but the police and security officers eventually closed off the group and kept Chun moving. As they slid her under the ropes, she gripped the trophy harder, trying not to drop it. When she saw a woman to her side, her left hand covering her mouth and sunglasses hiding her tears, Chun tried to hold back her emotions as well.
Given the path that Chun took from Seoul, South Korea, to the 18th green at Lancaster Country Club, it would have been hard for her not to. Chun, 20, came from behind with a 4-under-par 66 in the final round to best a crowded field of challengers – including Amy Yang, Inbee Park, Stacy Lewis, Morgan Pressel, Michelle Wie and Lydia Ko – and secure the title in the oldest major event in women’s golf, and her first major title.
It was all surreal for Chun, whose parents sank every dollar they had into her golf game. Both her mother and her father, Jong Jin Chun, had been laid off from their jobs in Korea after her father’s small convenience store in their rural town folded.
In Gee Chun was a prodigy in maths who initially hated golf. She kept playing only because someone teased her about her swing when she first picked up a club and she grew angry.
Now, she is one of the most popular players in Korea – and that was before she birdied four of her last seven holes Sunday to win by a stroke.
