Over the past two seasons, Inbee Park, the former world No. 1 and Olympic gold medalist, has battled multiple injuries ranging from her thumb to her back. It was a back injury which forced her in August to withdraw prior to the start of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, as well as the season’s final major, the Evian Championship. While she says she’s feeling better, Park won’t compete the remainder of the LPGA Tour’s 2017 season.
"I was actually planning on playing Shanghai event and CME Championship to finish my season this year,” Park told LPGA.com. “But when Shanghai event cancelled, I decided to spend some time with my family for the rest of the year.”
A left thumb injury sidelined Park for much of the 2016 season, including her title defense at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. She spent the time rehabbing and resting in order to make her return to competitive golf at the Olympic games in Rio. The decision paid off as Park went on to make history by winning gold and then called it quits for the remainder of the year. When she returned to the Tour in February 2017, the LPGA Tour Hall of Famer further cemented her superstar status with a win in her just second start of the year at the HSBC Women’s Champions.
"I still had a great season with a win in Singapore and enjoyed playing again from thumb injury last season,” Park said in assessing her year. “I am feeling much better now and been practicing hard lately.”
Why practice? Well, Park isn’t done playing for the year.
While fans won’t see her tee it up on the LPGA again in 2017, she plans to compete in October at her sponsor’s KB Financial Star Championship in Korea and in November at the Champions Trophy, a match between Korean players from the LPGA and KLPGA Tours.
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