Park Inbee is bidding to claim back-to-back Olympic golf titles ©Getty Images

South Korea's Park Inbee is aiming to defend her Olympic crown and will play with the two other Rio 2016 medallists when the women's golf competition gets underway here at the Tokyo 2020.

Park won gold at Rio 2016 where golf made its Olympic return after a 112-year hiatus.

It was an experience the 33-year-old described as the "most pressure-filled" in her life.

But Park - healthier than in 2016 - is confident she will be able to cope with the heat of the battle once again as she heads to the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo.

"It is definitely much better and much more relaxing this year because of my condition," said the seven-time major champion.

"In 2016 I had to deal with the injury, I had to deal with a lot of pressure, but this year is a bit different.

"It's once in a four-year opportunity and I did want to play well and I didn't want to withdraw.

"I was just trying really hard to fight the injury, but obviously a lot of people got worried.

"My family, my staff and probably the whole of Korea was probably worried that I am not in the best condition.

"I've been in a lot of situations where I felt a lot of pressure, but that kind of feel gave me a power to overcome a lot of the stuff and being able to win gold was amazing."

World number one Nelly Korda has been gearing up for the women's golf competition at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo ©Getty Images
World number one Nelly Korda has been gearing up for the women's golf competition at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo ©Getty Images

Park will be among a 60-strong field with golfers coming from 36 countries.

She will be teeing up in the opening two rounds alongside Lydia Ko of New Zealand and China's Feng Shanshan who collected silver and bronze respectively five years ago.

World number one Nelly Korda of the United States is expected to challenge for the title, while world number 11 Nasa Hataoka of Japan will hope to deliver another gold for the host nation.

But Park is relishing the chance of completing as the reigning champion, insisting it was a "dream come true" to win gold for South Korea again.

"I'm very excited to be here and obviously representing the country twice in a row is the biggest honour for me,” said Park.

"If I could put our flag in the highest point, that will even be a better experience.

"Hopefully the experience I had in Rio will help me get through this week and obviously with the hot weather and humid conditions, you have to be conditioning yourself really well."

Round one is due to start tomorrow, with the competition scheduled to conclude on Saturday (August 7).