Danielle Kang will not play for a while. The 29-year-old six-time LPGA Tour winner and Solheim Cup veteran, who is currently No. 12 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, announced on Twitter and Instagram that she will be stepping away to focus on her health.
In the posts, Kang wrote, “I wanted to have some answers before it became public information and unfortunately in many ways, I’ve learned some things just don’t play out as planned.”
She then announced that she would not be playing in the ShopRite LPGA Classic, taking place this week in New Jersey. Nor does Kang expect to participate in the Meijer LPGA Classic, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, and, in her words, “unfortunately the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship,” where she is a past champion.
At the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club last week, Kang confirmed a social-media post put out by her brother that she has a tumor on her spine.
The extent and severity of her medical situation remain unknown, though she has struggled with back problems for throughout the season. All she said was, “I don't know how to answer these things right now. I don't have all the answers. … For the last seven, eight weeks I've done everything I can to get here. After this week I will focus on addressing the issue and then trying to figure it out from there.”
Kang made the cut at Pine Needles and finished in a tie for 63rd. Her first career LPGA Tour win came in 2017 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago, where Kang held off a charging Brooke Henderson.
Kang has six professional victories, the last coming in January at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
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