Park breezes to Kraft Nabisco triumph

For the South Korean who picked up the second major title of her career to move up to second in the world rankings, it was a walk in the Park.

Inbee Park led the field by three strokes heading into the final day of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, carding a three-under-par final round of 69 to finish 15-under for the tournament - four strokes ahead of compatriot Ryu So-Yeon.

After taking the traditional plunge into Poppy’s pool at the Mission Hills Country Club, Park is setting her sights on usurping Stacy Lewis and becoming the world’s top-ranked female golfer.

“That’s the place that I’ve always wanted and I only have one more spot to go,” the 24-year-old told the LPGA Tour’s official website after clinching 2013’s opening major.

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“That brings a lot of momentum, keeps momentum going for me, especially after this week. I felt a lot of confidence with my swing and with my putting. Everything has been going the right way this season. It feels good.”

American Lewis was full of praise for Park, hailing the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open winner as “the best putter on Tour.”

“I’ve seen Inbee do this before,” said Lewis, who finished 14 shots adrift of Park. “When she rolls it, you just can’t beat her.

“The course here is a little softer than normal, so I think that’s to her advantage. She doesn’t hit it as high as some other people, but when she’s rolling it, you are not going to beat her.”

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The 2011 U.S. Women’s Open winner and Park’s compatriot Ryu So-Yeon (65) was second on the leaderboard on 11 under, ahead of Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall (68) and 2007 LPGA Championship winner Suzann Pettersen (69).

Haeji Kang (68), also of South Korea, and seven-time champion Karrie Webb (72) were tied for fifth. Fifteen-year-old New Zealander Lydia Ko was the highest-placed amateur, finishing tied for 25th.

Former world No. 1 Yani Tseng finished two over for the tournament, in a four-way tie for 48th place.