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It was back in 2006 when this legendary South Korean golfer turned pro. Since then almost two decades have passed and this LPGA star has gifted the golfing world with some great memories. However, she last competed for the LPGA in 2022. She took a maternity break and gave birth to her first daughter in April of 2023. Soon after a year, her family welcomed her second daughter in October of 2024. But now, as more than three years have passed, fans have been waiting for her return on the fairways.

37-year-old South Korean LPGA golfer, Inbee Park, who boasts seven major Championships win alongside a career Grand Slam and an Olympic gold, has just confirmed news that might leave several golf fans disheartened. Inbee Park is not looking forward to making a professional return to the sport. Park has recently confirmed that she won’t be playing for the LPGA in the upcoming season.

The maternity leave policy enforced by the LPGA Tour allows its golfers a time of up to two years to return to the competitive realm post partum. Park has been absent from the field since 2022. However, her second daughter was born at the end of 2024, thus she is supposed to get time till October of 2026 to make her return.

The seven-time major champ recently shared some heart-warming family moments on her Instagram. While her younger one turned two last October, fans were hoping that Park might be looking for a return this year while managing her mom duties. But recently, her manager told Golfweek that Park is now looking to extend her break from the competitive realm and would not be returning for the 2026 LPGA season.

However, going by the LPGA maternity policy, the Hall of Famer still has time till October 2026 to make a return, retaining her LPGA affiliation. While the 37-year-old now seemingly prioritizes her mom duties over the sport, she has already inspired many to take up the sport.

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How Inbee Park inspired generations with her magnificent performance in the 2016 Rio Olympics

More than a decade back, Inbee Park was too happy to be a golfer. That’s because it was the 2016 Rio Olympics, where golf as a sport was inducted after a 112-year hiatus. And that was the time when Park was in her prime. The Seoul native had clinched as many as three major titles in a row back in 2013. And while that was impressive enough, she also completed her Career Grand Slam in 2015. Thus, when she stepped into the fairway at Rio, the entire nation was watching. 

And Park did not disappoint. Displaying some incredible performances, she qualified for the final. And while her gold medal match was being telecast at 2 am in the Republic of Korea, almost the entire nation was wide awake. Finally, as she holed out on the 18th to clinch the coveted gold medal, her people back home rejoiced. 

According to reports from Korea’s national news agency Yonhap, her closing round garnered a whopping 23.9 percent of the television share. And since then, her impact on the next generation was such that almost 6.36 million people out of 50 million in Korea switched to golf as a profession. Thus, it is evident that the mark left by Park has been pretty indelible. And after all these years, the nation refuses to forget one of its greatest athletes who made the country’s name shine bright on the world stage.