World No. 2 Park In-bee withdrew from an LPGA Tour event in China on Friday, likely taking herself out of the running for season-end honors.
Park pulled out of the Blue Bay LPGA in Hainan Island, China, on Friday, citing a left middle finger injury. She struggled to a three-over 75 in the first round on Thursday, and it's not yet clear when she will be able to return.
Park began the week trailing Lydia Ko of New Zealand for the top spot in the world rankings, the LPGA money list and the Player of the Year points race. Park trailed Ko by 30 points for the Player of the Year honors, 273 to 243, and would have tied the teenage phenom with a win in China as long as Ko finished outside the top-10. A tour victory is worth 30 points, while a second-place finish is good for 12 points, and so forth.
There are three events remaining in the LPGA Tour season, and Park wasn't originally scheduled to play next week's event, the Toto Japan Classic. Park's next scheduled appearance will be in Mexico at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, followed by CME Group Tour Championship, the season finale.
Ko, who was born in South Korea, leads Park in money, US$2.71 million to $2.37 million. On the world rankings, Ko has 12.98 points. 0.3 point ahead of Park.
If Ko holds on to win the Player of the Year, she will be only the fourth LPGA player to win the Rookie of the Year and the top player honors in back-to-back seasons. (Yonhap)