Ko Jin-young guesses that she will be plenty rested whenever the LPGA Tour resumes.
Ko left the CME Group Tour Championship, the season-ending event of the Tour, in Naples, Florida, on Nov. 24 last year as the No. 1 player in women’s golf, capping off her four-win, two-major season as the association’s Player of the Year and winner of the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average.
The plan was to return for the Asia swing in the middle of February and work her way into the season — she is still waiting.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
The next event on the LPGA schedule is May 14 at the Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida, and that is looking more doubtful with each rapid development of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In the 17 years that I’ve been playing golf, this is the first time I’ve had such a long break from competition,” Ko said in an e-mail.
She is not alone. Park Sung-hyun withdrew from the final round in Naples with a sore left shoulder, but she was No. 2 in the world at the time.
Park, like Ko, skipped the two events in Florida and two in Australia, targeting her return in Asia.
Ko was in the US at the start of the year, while Park decided to go over when the coronavirus led to the Asia swing of the Tour being postponed, but they are now both back home.
Ko returned to South Korea when the Founders Cup, Kia Classic and ANA Inspiration were postponed, but she is still working just as hard.
“I go to bed and wake up early,” Ko said. “At least four times a week, I have a two-hour workout after breakfast. I practice golf every day and take my dog for walks when I return home. I also take naps occasionally.”
Park could not remember another time when she was away from competition so long.
“I can’t wait for the day that we get back on the golf course,” Park said. “I’ve accepted the fact that we won’t be playing for a while.”
The biggest competition for South Koreans is earning one of the four spots in the Olympic Games, which are no longer urgent with the Games having been postponed.
In the meantime, the wait — and the work — continues, along with perks that the 24-year-old Ko never imagined.
“Although the ‘offseason’ has been long, I am also enjoying the downtime,” Ko said. “I can’t remember the last time I was in Korea in the spring with my family. It’s been wonderful to see the cherry blossoms bloom.”
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