September 1, 2008–This year's U.S. Women's Open champ, Inbee Park, who originally hails from South Korea, has indelible ties to the Las Vegas golf community, and is the first golfer with strong ties to this city to win a major championship. Park won the 2004 and 2005 Nevada State High School Championships while starring at Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman High School, and she still maintains a residence in Las Vegas. She lists Badlands Golf Club as her home Las Vegas golf course. And recently, Park demonstrated her caring side as she made a $50,000 donation to the LPGA Foundation to support the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf (Girls Golf) initiative. “I’m very happy to donate money to help young girls playing golf,” says Park. “I spend about half of my time in the U.S. and I thought I should do something similar to Korea where I have donated clubs and money to elementary school children.”
“This very significant gift from Inbee comes at a perfect time to allow us to continue to expand and promote Girls Golf,” says Pat Browning, executive director of The LPGA Foundation. “Inbee's generous gift demonstrates her passion for getting more girls into the game and her commitment to 'giving back' to the game she loves. As 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of Girls Golf, Inbee’s involvement in LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Day 2009 Presented by Inbee Park, is very special and we are very grateful for her support.”
The Badlands Golf Club is one of two Las Vegas golf courses managed by Troon Golf and features 27 holes of tantalizing Johhny Miller desert golf. You can make your Las Vegas golf tee times at Badlands Golf Club.
With more than 6,000 members and more than 180 sites around the country, Girls Golf provides an opportunity for girls, ages 7 to 17, to learn to play golf, build lasting friendships, and experience competition in a fun, supportive environment, preparing them for a lifetime of enjoyment with the game. The only national initiative of its kind, Girls Golf is administered through a partnership between The LPGA Foundation and the USGA, both non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organizations.