It is said that players who are not afraid of change last a long time. As you get older, your body changes little by little, and you need to make changes little by little to suit the situation in order to have a long run. ‘Golf Empress’ Inbee Park (36), who has a total of 21 wins in the LPGA Tour alone, is said to have continued to pursue changes, including changing her swing, until recently.
Park Bo-gyeom (26) also has no fear of change. At the beginning of this season, when the results did not go as expected, he made a bold change to his swing. The process of recovering the shot was not easy. It also took longer than expected. Last June, I went through a difficult time, missing the cut in four consecutive competitions. The number of cuts missed this season is 15. However, Park Bo-gyeom, who did not give up and continued his challenge for change, won the Sangsangin and Hankyung Wownet Open, which ended at South Springs CC in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 20th, and lifted the second championship trophy of his dream career.
Park Bo-gyeom, who met at the Korea Economic Daily in Jungnim-dong, Seoul on the 21st, said, “Athletes must continue to challenge themselves and make more efforts for change. I did not think of the process so far as a failure, and although it was a painful process, I believed that there was something to be gained.” . He added, “I’m really happy that the difficult process was rewarded with a win.”
○Saipan gymnast girl dreams of golf
Park Bo-gyeom immigrated to Saipan with his family when he was in the third grade of elementary school. You may have become accustomed to change from then on. At first, he was scared of the unfamiliar environment, but he quickly adapted to life in Saipan as he fell in love with the natural environment that he could not find in Korea.
Saipan was also where Park Bo-gyeom developed his dream of becoming an athlete. During my after-school classes, I experienced a variety of sports, including soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, and track and field, and my athleticism was outstanding enough to represent my school in all sports. Actually, golf wasn’t something I was interested in at first. While dreaming of becoming a tennis player, I had no idea that the golf club I picked up by chance at my mother’s driving range would become my destiny. He said, “I swung it once for fun, and it hit the ball really well. I felt I had talent, and I started playing golf as a hobby.”
Park Bo-gyeom, who gradually fell in love with the charm of golf, which allows him to send a small ball in the direction and distance he wants, developed his dream of becoming a golf player by teaching himself on YouTube. Then, because I wanted to learn how to play golf properly, I persuaded my parents and brought my whole family to Korea. I was fifteen at the time.
○ As the departure is late, go all-in on practice
As soon as Park Bo-gyeom returned to Korea, he realized that the path to becoming a golfer was not easy. Because I started playing golf 5 to 6 years later than my peers, I could not help but feel that the gap with my competitors was too large. Park Min-ji (26), who is of the same age, is one of them. Park Bo-gyeom said that it was difficult even to see Park Min-ji, who was sweeping the amateur competition at the time, at the competition venue. But there was no frustration for him. Park Bo-gyeom only thought about ways to quickly narrow the gap. The conclusion he came to was practice. I thought I had to spend more time and shoot more shots than others to catch up. Park Bo-gyeom said, “I tried to be the first to come to the practice range and the last to leave work,” and “In fact, I had so many different experiences before I started playing golf that I never thought about giving up golf or doing something else.”
Even now, four years after his tour debut, Park Bo-gyeom is still focused solely on golf. Even after winning my first ever championship in May of last year, I only thought about ‘how can I play better golf?’ The same goes for this win. Park Bo-gyeom, who said he was going to practice right after the interview, said, “I will try to win another championship in the remaining three competitions.” He said, “As long as I have physical strength, I want to become a player with better skills,” and pledged, “Golf is still the most fun, and since I started late, I want to play for a longer time.”
Reporter Seo Jae-won [email protected]
