Na Yeon Choi was disappointed that her parents weren't there on Sunday to celebrate her U.S. Women's Open victory. But having her parents home in South Korea instead of in the gallery at Blackwolf Run might be one of the reasons why Choi has matured into a player with the poise to survive a potential meltdown on the back nine and hold on to win her first career major. When Choi joined the LPGA Tour in 2008, her parents came along to help her adjust to life in a new country. In 2009, Choi decided she needed to be on her own to mature - so she sent them home. "I told my parents I want to be more independent: 'I want you guys to go back to Korea and go there and relax and support me from there,'" Choi said. And then that moment actually they were mad, and my mom was crying, because they did very hard working for me up to now. But I said I think I need to be more independent. I can learn something from independence. Just a few weeks after they left, she won her first LPGA tournament. "My mom and dad called me, like, 'I knew you could do it,'" she said. So look mom and dad, I really learned a lot of things from independence. I know what I have to do. I still practice hard and (am) working hard. Choi had a flight booked back home Monday and couldn't wait to see her father, Byeong Ho Choi, and her mother, Jeong Me Song. "Actually, I feel really sorry for them, because they are not here right now," Choi said. But I'm pretty sure they were watching on TV and they couldn't sleep last night, and they supported me a lot. I really appreciate what they did. Choi shot 73 on Sunday and finished at 7 under. Amy Yang, also from South Korea, had a 71 to finish second. Choi is the fourth South Korean to win the event in the five years, following Inbee Park (2008), Eun-Hee Ji (2009) and So Yeon Ryu (2011). Choi now plans to attend the London Olympics later this month. And she hopes to represent her country in 2016. "That is my biggest goal right now," she said. I mean, I can be like No. 1 in the world or Player of the Year, but my biggest dream is playing Olympic 2016 and I want to get some medal from there. That's why I want to go to (the Olympics) this year and see what's the feeling. Choi was feeling nervous earlier in the day, when what looked like an easy victory started to unravel. Choi was 8 under at that point - five strokes ahead of Yang.