Park In-bee withdraws from US Women's Open

Park In-bee

By Baek Byung-yeul

Park In-bee withdrew from the U.S. Women’s Open, the oldest major championship in women’s golf, due to a lingering injury to her left thumb.

The United States Golf Association (USGA), said Wednesday (local time) that Park will not compete in the tournament which is scheduled for July 7 to 10 at CordeValle in San Martin, California. Park won the event twice in 2008 and 2013.

Fighting injury, Park had competed in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to meet the tour’s 10-year membership requirement for the LPGA Hall of Fame earlier this month. At the event, she missed the cut and didn’t compete in the Meijer LPGA Classic last week and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship this week.

The announcement came a day after the world’s third-biggest golfer’s agency revealed that Park wouldn’t be competing in the UL International Crown as the injury she has suffered may take longer to heal.

The biennial women’s team even is July 21 to 24 at the Merit Club in Illinois. Instead of Park, Ryu So-yeon will join the Korean team roster along with Kim Sei-young, Chun In-gee and Yang Hee-young.

Park’s prolonged injury may also rule the golfer out from the upcoming Rio Olympics. Her agency Galaxia SM said earlier this week that Park is eager to compete in the Olympics, but at the same time she has been fighting inflammation in her thumb.

This year’s Rio Summer Games features men’s and women’s golf competitions for the first time in Olympic history.