Park In-bee withdraws from LPGA stop after career-worst round

SEOUL, (Yonhap) — South Korean golfer Park In-bee has withdrawn from an LPGA Tour event in Michigan after shooting the worst round of her career.

Park, ranked No. 2 in the world, carded a 12-over 84 in the first round of the LPGA Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor on Thursday (local time). She traded three birdies for eight bogeys, a double bogey and a quintuple bogey.

She entered the competition despite pains in her left thumb. This was her third withdrawal of the season already in eight starts.

In the last week of January, Park withdrew from the season-opening Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic after one round with a back injury. She missed nearly a month of action, and posted two top-10 finishes over her next six tournaments.

Park then sat out another month to reset her injured left thumb. She returned to the tour last week at the Kingsmill Championship but withdrew after six holes in the second round when her thumb acted up again.

The injury-plagued season casts doubt on her medal prospects at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics in August. As the top South Korean in the world rankings, Park is almost a lock to represent the country as golf returns to the Olympics for the first time in 112 years.

Prior to Thursday, Park’s worst round had been a nine-over 81 in the final round of the Wegmans LPGA in June 2009.