Jin Young Ko used four words, two emojis and one emoji Monday to caption an Instagram photo. Anyone interested in gaining insight into the World No. The message was clear: 1’s mindset after last week’s withdrawal.
Ko wrote “Accept, Think, Move On”, followed by a twister emoticon.
The BMW Ladies Championship was sure to feel like a storm for the World No. 1. After taking two months off to treat a wrist injury, Ko played close to home at her first event in two weeks.
This was the player who won tournaments often after long breaks. Instead, she posted her highest round in her LPGA career with an opening 80. Ko shot a 10 at the par 5 final hole, snatching a shot left-handed but mostly messing up the hole. On Friday, she shot 79 and then withdrew.
Ko, 27 years old, told South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency that she did not want to use her wrist injury for excuses after the first round. After 36 holes, however, it became clear that something was not right.
On Monday, Ko’s manager informed Golfweek that she is still receiving treatment for the left wrist injury. She will try her best to return to Florida in good condition next month.
The LPGA schedule still has three events. Ko had not planned to play in Japan, but she did have her sights on the two last events. Last year, she won the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. She played in such pain that she couldn’t properly warm herself up before each round.
Ko was close to becoming the World No. 1 last week in South Korea. Atthaya Thitikul, a rookie, was leading the race into the final round. No. Thitikul, ranked No. 2, could have risen to No. Thitikul could have risen to No. 2 with a solo fourth place finish. The disappointing 74 result on Sunday dropped the young Thai star to sixth.
Ko has held the top spot for 38 weeks consecutively and totaled 144 weeks. In March, she won the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
