Inbee On Way To Grand Slam...Or Something Amazingly Historic

Randall Mell with some great behind-the-scenes stuff from Inbee Park as the seemingly cool cat was just like all of the perpetual worriers who've won majors, fretting away her Saturday night away en route to a positively stunning third-straight major win in the U.S. Women's Open.

Unable to sleep, Park opened the door of her bedroom and waved for her mother to come inside for a talk. Park confessed she was feeling nervous trying to become the first player since Babe Zaharias in 1950 to win the first three majors in a season. She confessed that she was worried about letting down friends and fellow South Koreans. She confessed she was worried about disappointing her family.

LPGA has designated the Evian Championship in September a major.

Beth Ann Baldry on the possibility of Park winning the Women's British at St. Andrews (talk about stars aligning...), but not a true "Grand Slam" because the LPGA de$ignated the Evian Championship in September a fifth major.

This year, however, there are five major championships up for grabs, and according to golf historian Martin Davis, that means she needs to win all five to, by definition, win the Grand Slam.

The term "grand slam" originates from bridge, a card game in which players win tricks. When someone clears the table, they earn 13 tricks, or a "grand slam." Bridge was quite popular around the time Bobby Jones won the four biggest tournaments of his era in 1930, prompting The Atlanta Journal's O.B. Keeler to use the bridge term to famously describe Jones’ improbable feat.

“It doesn’t refer to four,” Davis said. “It refers to running the table.”

John Strege looks at the putting mastery that is key to Park's success.

Putting guru Dave Stockton believes that good putting begins with the mind, not the mechanics, and that Park "mentally is in a league of her own out there," he said. "What I love that I see is her total lack of being affected by where she stands. She's very calm, very composed and it serves her well. The rhythm with her stroke and throughout the whole swing, most of the time in a U.S. Open you see others losing that. But she's withstood it really, really well. I think it's because of that demeanor that no shot is more important than the last one or a future one. She doesn't change her routine depending on the pressure."

Inbee will be making the rounds Monday morning with her third major championship trophy of 2013. Courtesy of the LPGA media relations folks: