BELMONT, Mich. — It’s been a few years since Sadena Parks had her LPGA card, and she hadn’t made a start on the LPGA since late 2017, nearly five years ago. But she earned her way into this week’s Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give by winning THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Golf Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage, a 36-hole event that rewarded her with starts at the Meijer and the LPGA’s upcoming Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, also slated for Michigan next month.
Parks first round back inside the ropes included a little bit of everything. She missed a few fairways and paid the price from the thick rough. She finished with round of even-par 72.
“You know what?” she said. “Nothing is wrong with an even score. I haven’t lost some, I haven’t gained any (strokes). I did enjoy it. I’m happy to be out here. I just want to play some good golf. I saw a few things I need to work on. The greens are rolling really nice; I want to make sure I can match up with the green speed, and hit fairways, most importantly. I missed more fairways than I expected.”
Parks, 32, a two-time winner on the Epson Tour, did finish strongly, making birdies on two of her final three holes, fist-pumping when her 15-footer on her last hole (the par-4 ninth) vanished into the hole.
“I’m amped up, and I think that’s really what it was, amped up, adrenaline running through my veins. I’m ready to tone it down and see what tomorrow brings.”
Asked about her biggest strength on Thursday, Parks said, “Just the humbleness I brought to the game.”
