Best of the rest out to crash Park's slam party

The completion of a grand slam at the home of golf would be the ultimate fairytale but there are plenty looking to rip up the script. Stacy Lewis is hardly a wicked witch of the west but the American is keen to cast her own spell over the Old Course again and play the role of villain of the piece. "I think you want to be that person that kind of spoils history a little bit," said the world No.2 with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Her record in the women's majors this year is far from dazzling – she's not finished higher than 28th in the three that have already been played – but Lewis has a sparkling pedigree at St Andrews and is relishing a return to the cradle of the game. It was here in 2008 that Lewis created her own little piece of history when she became the first player to win all five of her matches in the Curtis Cup as the USA swept to a comprehensive victory over Great Britain and Ireland. This week has provided the opportunity for a wander down memory lane. "It's cool to be back," said the 28-year-old, who has racked up seven wins on the LPGA Tour since joining the paid ranks five years ago. "I played a practice round on Monday with Alison Walshe [her Curtis Cup team-mate] and we played three matches together during that week and won them all. We kind of went back and talked about the shots we hit, the holes we won and the matches we won."

The talk now, of course, is about how to derail the Park express. The Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Championship and the US Women's Open have all been gobbled up by the rampant Korean over the past few months. It has been a clinical, ruthless golfing operation and Lewis has been an intrigued onlooker. "You would think after winning two of them it would faze her a little bit, but obviously at the US Open, it didn't," added Lewis, who shared eighth place in last season's Women's British Open at Hoylake. "She is playing so good this year, and she is so steady, you would not know whether she's winning a tournament or whether she's losing it, and that's what you need in a major. As a player, you would like to know if she's human a little bit, to see if she actually feels the nerves like the rest of us do."

She probably does, but with an unwavering mental resolve, a calm demeanour and a drive and determination that is a common ingredient in the make up of the dedicated Korean contingent, Park is not one for letting her guard down.

Her dominance of the women's circuit has captured the imagination but the scale of her achievements, in Lewis's eyes at least, have not been truly recognised. "For what Inbee is doing right now, she's not getting the credit that she deserves," insisted Lewis, who claimed her one and only major crown to date in the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Cahmpionship. "If somebody was doing this on the men's tour, it would be being talked about over and over and over again for a month before the major, not just a couple days before. I don't think as a tour we've gotten the credibility that we have deserved and it's something that we are struggling to get."

Given the current palaver surrounding equality and the prickly topic of all-male clubs, it was inevitable that the issue cropped up again yesterday. Here in St Andrews, the doors of the Royal & Ancient clubhouse have swung open to accommodate the good ladies during the tournament. "I don't have a problem with the all-male clubs," declared Lewis, with a shrug of the shoulders. "I think if the club wants to be that way on tradition, that's fine with me."

Girl power will be to the fore this week and they don't come more powerful at the moment than the all-conquering Park. The Korean golf public, which is far more enthralled by the exploits of the nation's female players than the men, will be glued to their sets as the 25-year-old begins her historic quest on Scottish soil. Three majors, as well as a further trio of LPGA titles, during 2013 is a pretty extraordinary haul for this extraordinary golfer. The prizes, the plaudits and even the presents continue to pile up. "Last week in Korea I got a couple of very good presents; a new Ferrari and a gold putter," she said. There could be yet more to come, of course, but Park seems to be taking all the hype and expectation in her purposeful stride.

"I'm not putting too much pressure on myself to have to win this week," she added. "I mean three wins and three major wins this year is very good for me. It's something that I really never expected to be doing. Having this kind of opportunity [to win the grand slam] at the British Open is very special. If it could happen, it's something that I will never forget. My name will be in the history of golf forever."